Letters: Homeless suffer prejudice

ABOUT these tragic homeless people we read of in the Chronicle (May 17): The council clearly thinks it's not its responsibility to provide shelter for people such as Tiffany Haddon and Matthew Tonihi. "It is only their role to create an environment where that could happen," the deputy mayor, Jenny Duncan, was reported as saying.

The council has neither the political nor moral will to help these two. They simply want to look at more accessible housing including options for modest-income people. Instead, the council wants submissions.

Apparently, Tiffany and Matthew had $250 a week between them. Is that not more than enough to pay for accommodation? In other words, modest-income people?

Even though there have been icy winds on and off this last little while, Tiffany and Matthew have had to live in doorways, not indoors.

Two women did help them out with a deposit — yeah, you two women!
Meanwhile, an unnamed holiday park had withdrawn its offer.

This all smacks of terrible prejudice and injustice that we, the community, support by not saying a word.

I agree with Tiffany: "This homeless situation sucks in this town". And to the council: "Bloody well do something about it." By the way, whose responsibility is it?

RUTH TIDEMANN
Castlecliff

Baking thanks is okay

The article in the Whanganui Chronicle of Friday, May 24, regarding the offer by a patient of home baking to hospital staff in recognition of the quality care she had received, was misleading, at least in its early paragraphs.

To clarify, staff can — and often do — accept such gifts.

And no such gifts have been passed on to Whanganui District Health Board chief executive Russell Simpson in the 18 months he has been in the position. Nor would he want them to be — he believes they should be enjoyed by our deserving frontline staff.

Mr Simpson has expressed his disappointment that Catherine may have inadvertently felt snubbed.

MARK DAWSON
Communications manager, Whanganui District Health Board

Palliative care sources

In response to K McLauchlan (May 21): You challenged me as to where I got my information from, so here you go:

https://ahsri.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@chsd/@pcoc/documents/doc/uow252855.pdf.

If you go to page 30 of this report from Palliative Care Australia's latest Patient Outcomes Report; Page 30 shows "a total of 6 per cent suffer "severely" from pain and/or other symptoms in the terminal phase. "Other symptoms" could include suffocation, choking on the involuntary movements of your own throat or drowning in your own lung fluids.

And I have spoken to palliative care specialists who confirmed to me in person that they are unable to help everyone. In her 20 years in the industry, one said, she has seen people suffer badly while dying.

She is now retired, which is why she is able to speak out. Recently palliative care specialists reported in an article in the British Medical Journal that speaking out against this bill could mean losing their jobs, and I've heard the same here:
https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l1494/rapid-responses?
fbclid=IwAR3suRcYJf5zVBIWk4xetSPq1oodC0XiTNC0WfXWCL8baCAcPU9qquF8mKQ.
If this isn't enough for you, how about this article: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/dying-ex-palliative-care-nurses-14079732fbclid=IwAR26UlucOsZ5VJfP5yf_bVWlJpr4VhyDvcOCIS6IUaF_DtoYmzRC88f7zYU.
Perhaps it's Palliative Care who need to "take their heads out of the sand".

ESTHER RICHARDS
Tauranga

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