Dear Sir,

On January 19, my dear friend was taken to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital by ambulance suffering from pain in her back. Recently she returned from six months fighting Hodgkin's lymphoma at the Lahey Clinic in Boston.

She underwent a stem cell procedure and is home for a month of rest and relaxation. Unfortunate for her she's in King Edward instead.

She's had bad experiences ever since she was admitted. Today, she is still in pain, as they can't seem to get the correct dosage to make her comfortable.

Lahey Clinic advised KEMH to give a cat scan to determine where her pain is and why. It took the attending nurse two hours to return with a shot to try to make her comfortable.

Her breakfast was delivered outside of her room this morning and left until 9:30 a.m. to which after inquiring about it she finally received a very cold poached egg and oatmeal.

All this due to the fact she is in isolation and there is a stigma to that word, people automatically think she has AIDS and that it's floating in the air! (what a crock).

The young doctor who visited her bedside, when asked, says he's been practising for two years, to this she told him he's an intern not a doctor. But her biggest complaint is the day before she was told of an impending cat scan for the next day. No one came to give her a time, so she called her appointment herself.

Only to find she has a scheduled appointment for noon and that they were waiting for a nurse to pick up the liquids she has to drink before the test.

So the nice lady she spoke to sent them up to her and assured her an attendant would be there to pick her up in a wheelchair. I don't know hat type of hospital we have.

I for one don't want to go there for any extended time.

I'd rather go to my dog's veterinarian than any MD at KEMH. Talk about neglecting patients, that is an understatement.

WELL I NEVER

Devonshire

Abuse of our tax dollars

January 26, 2005

Dear Sir,

I was astounded to read in yesterday's Royal Gazette that the taxpayer was funding a survey via the use of community focus groups and operated through the Department of Communication and Information.

Apparently the objective of the survey was to get the public's perception and views on a wide range of community issues, from housing to healthcare. The public also learned from your article that the survey asked specific questions about the performance of the Premier.

I'm pretty sure most of the community agrees that we have just witnessed, again, another abuse of taxpayers' dollars by the present PLP Administration.

I have some free advice to give to the Department of Communication and Information that they in turn can give to the Premier of this Administration and future Administrations should the Department be asked to carry out such surveys again: "If you want to learn the public's views on the major issues of the day, as well as on the Government's performance, get out there and do some door-to-door canvassing."

There is no better way to get an honest and clear view than to 'press the flesh' with the voters in our community.

And the big bonus is that the taxpayer is not footing the bill.

ALLAN D. MARSHALL

Smith's Parish