Potholes still driving us daft

THE FRIDAY THING: ARE Oldham’s roads improving?

The rash of potholes that turn every journey by car into a slalom which, while it might have some exciting moments (like near misses with cars, people, walls etc.) can also do serious damage to a much-loved car.

Oldham has been given £620,000 to carry out repairs to our crumbling roads, but do motorists believe it will be enough to rid us of the holes?

The Automobile Association is pleased to report an improvement in roads, down from 14.9 potholes a mile (though quite what .9 of a pothole is, heaven knows), to 12.5 potholes a mile and I am sure that all we drivers will be grateful for any improvement.

To be fair to Oldham Council it has done its bit to save our wheels, tyres, suspension and patience from fractures thanks to the pothole mole and his big brother Velocity, which enables engineers to fix more holes in less time.

So far so good, except that drivers who have been quizzed about the state of the roads still complain of poor road quality and that inspection covers, used by gas and electricity workers, are at a different level to the rest of the road and cause another hazard — especially to cyclists, who in trying to make their way round the minefield of potholes and inspection covers are in danger of being mown down.



MOST of us, based on our personal experience, would see the NHS as the shining jewel in the crown of our previously respected and much loved institutions — the BBC, the Government, the law, our educators and so on.
But there is growing evidence that the NHS itself is, well, poorly. A diagnosis from Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (even without a white coat and a stethoscope) points out that some patients in NHS hospitals are victims of “coldness, resentment, indifference and even contempt”.

The Prince of Wales goes even further, telling the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine that: “those age-old qualities of human kindness and compassion are palpably lacking” in some hospitals and clinics.

So how have we come to this? How have we gone from the cheerful goodness and dedication that so characterised those who work in the wards of our hospitals to a time when patients die of starvation, trays of food are left out of patients’ reach and taken away untouched? A tiny minority, true, but a significant worry nonetheless.

It would be wrong to signpost these conditions as common to all hospitals, clearly they are not, but it is disgraceful that some elderly patients are treated with what seems to be a casual contempt.

As more and more of us live longer — due in no small way to the splendid work of those within the NHS — the challenges in hospitals clearly grow but we must not reach a state where callousness replaces compassion and members of staff at all levels must be alert to any slippage from the high standard of care expected and not be afraid to report them.



WITH surveys galore going the rounds we should all be well used to daft questions by now but another little gem has just popped its little head above the parapet of common sense.
Folk living in Stockport, Cheshire East and Manchester city have been asked to fill in what is called a “social inclusion” questionnaire, unbelievably because a new road is being built close to their homes.

The purpose of the questionnaire, assuming that it has a purpose other than being nosy, is to find out whether people living in the area have changed their gender since they were born.

“Is your gender identity the same as the gender you were assigned at birth?” goes the question. The gender question was sent out with a glossy brochure about the new road and also asked local folk about their colour, religion and sex and whether they were heterosexual, gay or lesbian.

Now I don’t know about you, but I cannot see quite what difference my colour, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs have to do with building a new road.

Do I get a different road if I am gay or lesbian or a touch of either?

And why does my colour matter, unless of course the nosy parkers think I will clash with their new road. The world is going mad.



I was delighted to read that the magnificent Oldham Library has the second highest number of visits of any individual library in the North-West.
And the town’s libraries in total attracted 1.5 million visitors, up by 40,000 from last year.

Libraries have long been an inspirational venue for opening minds, excitement, adventure and fun. Long may they continue to flourish in Oldham.