• Please check your prescriptions

ON November 9, my husband returned home after leaving for work, with chest pains.

As he had had a heart attack last year, I immediately phoned for an ambulance.

After two days in hospital it was discovered by the hospital that he had been given someone else’s tablets by mistake.

My husband, who is partially sighted, could not see that his tablets were not for him.

So since September 29, he had not been treated for his heart, which led him to have an angina attack.

So please check you are given the correct medication by your chemist.

I have spoken to two people this week who also had been given tablets for someone else.

This mistake could have led to my husband’s death, but what a waste of money to the health service, the loss of work for two weeks, and a lot of distress to our family and friends.

JILL ALLEN-KING Silversea Drive, Westcliff

  • Any loo will do...providing it works

ON November 30, I attended a Rochford District Council meeting in Rayleigh that was mainly about the future of the public conveniences in Rochford District.

There are six in total, including the one in Hockley Woods that is not included at the moment.

It was the usual stuffy council meeting where the public are not allowed to ask questions.

There were about 15 council members and about ten members of the public and parish/town councillors.

An agenda/information document was handed out containing a lot of facts and figures.

To cut a long story short, the main proposal seems to be to replace the current toilet blocks with the cubicle-type blocks they use in Southend and Leigh that have a life expectancy of 20 years.

I see it, the reason for this is that the existing facilities need to be completely refurbished, costing probably as much, if not more, than replacing them.

The other main point is they would for some reason like to offload the cleaning and maintenance responsibility to the parish/town councils.

I would assume this is to cut the budget cost, but in the end we all end up paying whatever way you look at it.

My opinion is that as long as these facilities remain in a usable state it doesn’t matter what building they are in.

I have used the cubicle-type toilets in the past and as long as they are regularly cleaned and maintained they seem to work quite well.

The council is intending to consult the public before going ahead with any changes, but going by past experience of consultations/surveys the response can be as little as 0.4 per cent.

ALAN JAMES Belchamps Way, Hockley

  • Homes article got the numbers wrong

I HAVE to take issue with a story in Tuesday’s Echo: “Mini town could be built near to the A130”.

The statement “Basildon needs to identify sites for 15,000 homes by 2034” is wrong in two ways: 1. The Council’s Draft Plan had ‘at least 15,260 new homes by 2034’. They presented a range from 15,260 to 16,740 - but in all likelihood the proposals in that Plan would result in more than the upper limit of that range because no allowance was made for the new homes that would be built by 2034 that no one has yet thought of building.

2. The idea that Basildon needs to identify sites for 15,000 or more homes is wrong. There is a requirement on the council to seek to meet the full need for housing. There is also a requirement on the council to retain the permanence of the open green belt. Both these requirements should be met. There is very little sign of any serious effort by the council to maximise the use of urban sites (and derelict or vacant built sites in the green belt) in the Draft Plan.

ROLAND LAZARUS Hillary Mount, Billericay

  • We are working on better policing

I WOULD like to thank Jim Worsdale for his column on Tuesday that adds awareness to a situation we are all finding unacceptable, this being the lack of police presence across the town and the response times when calling 999.

I wish to assure residents that Southend Borough Council is taking all the necessary steps to ensure that a satisfactory solution is found.

Councillor Flewitt, the portfolio holder for public protection, myself and councillor Robinson, along with council staff are having regular meetings with the police and all concerned partners.

To date, these meetings have been productive. There are many issues to consider and it may be that the council takes over some low level crime enforcement, giving the police more time to concentrate on the serious crime issues that cause real concern to residents.

We are looking to have a formal report with acceptable recommendations agreed by April/May 2017.

This is a matter that will not go away until a resolution is found.

BRIAN AYLING Ennismore Gardens, Southend

  • Thank council for the lights parade

I NOTED with pleasure the great photo coverage of the Leigh Lights Parade in your paper.

However I was disappointed by your short article as there was no mention of Leigh Town Council, whose event it was.

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the Town Council staff for all their behind the scenes hard work. I would also like to thank the Police, Southend Carnival, volunteers and Town Councillors, who spent many hours preparing for and stewarding the parade, for producing such an enjoyable evening.

CLLR VALERIE MORGAN Chair Environment and Leisure Committee Leigh Town Council

  • Hard workers from all over the world

CONCERNING my recent stay in Princess Ann ward, Southend Hospital.

My experience was that all the staff worked very hard with great devotion.

It was very noticeable that staff came from all over the world Africa, India, Poland, the Philippines etc.

All endeavoured to do their utmost for their patients.

Without the help of staff from other countries, the hospital would find it impossible to function.

We should all appreciate their value. I thank each and every one of them.

BERNICE CLARKE Kensington Road, Southend

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