Candle

One cannot only blame dificulties with recruitment. Many dentists have come to shetland with the intention of staying but left after a short time. One should consider why that is as there are usually reasons for high staff turnover. Maybe one needs to address this rather than, rather conveniently, blaming lack of available dentists.

The truth is that dental registration is pretty meaningless in itself and does little more than provide a statistic that can be used by boards as 'spin' to imply that progress is being made in the service. Being on the register will not guarantee dental examinations and treatment plans in which case the figures can be pretty much ignored. What is more important is, can people get appointments for check ups and can they get any necessary treatment completed within a satisfactory period of time?

Hi We are thinking to get a gas fire and I was wondering what out choices would be with regard to a) buying the appliance and getting it fitted. Are we committed to just Rearo up here or are there any other options?

Hi there We are considering having a gas fire fitted in a new extension to our house. We are wondering if there are any alternatives to rearo for fitting the appliance if we were to buy it South. We have nothing against rearo but would like to get some kind of price comparison. Would greatly appreciate any ideas. Thanks

Who are people such as Mr. B.I. answerable to? Why are we constantly subjected to decisions made about our local health and social services with so little consultation?

While I am aware that cuts have to be made, one should listen to those at the coal face as Money can be wasted on poorly thought through schemes. Has this been done? It often appears that decisions are made on the flimsiest of information with much emphasis on personal points of view rather than real facts.

We have dithered about this for months because we aware that some do have problems and the climate in shetland is not ideal. However, we feel that, on balance, there are more pros than cons and that those that have ASHP's are generally happy. Having said that if anyone can offer any insight, good or bad, before we take the plunge, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hi there I am looking into getting an air source heat pump fitted. Can anyone recommend a good plumber to undertake the work? It seems to be quite a specialised field so would prefer to get someone in who has a lot of experience with them. Many thanks

The majority of our practitioners are hard working and caring individuals who are not only unable to speak out for fear of suffering the wrath of senior management, but also hindered in their daily working lives because of the red tape forced upon them. It is ridiculous that in this day and age a whole section of our workforce in shetland are not afforded the right of freedom of speech. What year is this? I have never understood how it has been allowed to happen and in my opinion such gagging is used to hide failings and only serves to raise suspicion.

It seems to me that this is a very heavy handed approach in the name political correctness and says more about the abliityof the management to make appropriate, well considered decisions than it does about those directly involved. Incidentally, how are the company covering the loss of two senior pilots? Are existing senior pilots expected to fill the void? Have the actions of management led to a compromise in the service? What has happened to good old common sense?

Thanks for the email address to write to, Kavi Ugl. Job done!

Pleased that the majority are seeing this for what it is and keeping it in perspective. These guys do a fantastic job in some terrible conditions. Hope that those in charge recognise that and act accordingly. They definitely have my support.

I am sickened by the damage that these extremely well paid 'penpushers' have done to our health service in general. Dentistry is back in the news because of difficulty in accessing regular appointments. It seems that the management at Brevik House do not listen to those 'at the coal face' and lurch from one ridiculous strategy to another. Who monitors their performance? It seems to me that their main skills are in creating waffle and spin to cover up a catalogue of errors and poor decisions. I just hope that nobody is fooled by it.