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A backwards step?

RE THE new rehab centre at GWH. Are we ‘progressing’ backwards? Or is it a case of the wheel turning full circle?

In your report (SA 1st Sept.) the CEO of the GWH Trust, Nerissa Vaughan, is quoted as saying that the proposed “new transitional care facility would transform the way in which the system has traditionally operated…”

I would remind the current management that, from the inception of the NHS in 1948 up until the 1980s, there were rehabilitation centres, convalescent homes and half-way houses.

They were closed down because they were considered not to be ‘cost-effective’ – yet such establishments have continued to be ‘profit-making’ in the private sector!

It all depends on how one does the accounts. Sometimes it is cost-effective to spend money in one ‘sector’ in order to save money in another; but this is difficult if they are in different budgets. Yet, it all comes out of the public purse.

Malcolm Morrison, Prospect Hill, Swindon

The wrong building

Why is money being spent on the block above Swindon Railway Station and yet that lovely old building, the Mechanics Institute, is left to rot?

You can count on one hand the old buildings left in the town, and yet the council dilly-dally on what to do with the building.

I had to laugh when I read SA Tuesday September 4th, Karsten Evans wants to do something with it to save the listed building from becoming a ruin, but that is what it is. For goodness sake, do something with it and just remember if it wasn’t for the railways there wouldn’t be a Swindon.

Mrs L Townsend, Redcliffe Street, Swindon

Don’t blame foxes

Regarding your article on foxes with mange in Penhill, where I also live.

If Phil Lawrence, as a good owner, regularly treats his dog for fleas with Advocate, Stronghold or whatever his own vet recommends, the dog will also be protected from the mange mite.

I have been treating the foxes round here with mange remedy from either NFWS or Derby Foxes for many years, and it’s wonderful to see a poorly fox with mange transform into a beautiful creature.

I’ve never had problems with my own pets getting mange, even though I’ve seen fox cubs playing with some kittens I was fostering.

It’s a pity that Phil doesn’t have empathy for other members of the dog family, instead of regarding them as pests. It’s humans that have upset the balance of nature, not any animals. We have built on land that used to belong to the wildlife, so they have to go somewhere.

Mary Smeed, Ramsbury Avenue, Swindon

Help children to read

TODAY marks International Literacy Day (8th September), an important day which underscores the significant role literacy plays in our upbringing and highlights the challenges that children who struggle with reading and wider literacy skills face.

With children now back to school across Swindon, it’s also a critical time for the local team at Beanstalk. We want to ensure we have enough trained volunteers ready to deliver one-to-one reading support to those pupils who need extra support and encouragement with their reading to prevent them from falling further behind.

New statistics just announced by the Department of Education reveal that just over 670 primary school leavers in Swindon did not achieve the expected level in reading in the last academic year.

This means that a large proportion of children in the local area are still being left behind without the key literacy skills they need to give them the best possible start in life. This is shocking and needs to be tackled.

This statistic is at the forefront of our minds as we aim to reach more children with our life-changing reading programmes than ever before over the next school year.

To help us achieve this, we’re appealing for new volunteers in Swindon to come forward to help support children in local primary schools and early years settings with their reading.

If you can spare a few hours a week to make that difference, please visit www.beanstalkcharity.org.uk or call 0845 450 0307 to find out more about our work and how you can sign up as a Beanstalk reading helper.

Ginny Lunn, Chief Executive of Beanstalk (reading charity), London