The Good, the Bad and the rest...

Once again, drunks and hospitals are making the news. The Daily Post reports a Nurse at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd was punched in the face by a drunk 17-year-old as she tried to dress his wound. The youth then sank his teeth into the arm of hospital security guard Malcolm Owen, who was trying to restrain him. Medics watched in horror as the youth slapped his own father across the face in an uncontrollable rage in the minor injuries department in July last year. He was later arrested and then charged with two counts of actual bodily harm. But last night, the nurse told of her dismay to find the Crown Prosecution Service was dropping the case. The 39-year-old mum-of-two suffered a black eye and has been off work sick with stress ever since.

This isn’t an uncommon case; NHS A & E staff are in the front line when it comes to violent attacks, almost all fuelled by alcohol. But what should we be doing about it?

The main problem is that the security guard could only employ ‘reasonable force’ to restrain the yob when, in fact, what he probably needed was about 30 seconds of continuous tasering. Or a gentle tap on the head with - oh, an anvil, perhaps. More seriously, however, we end up paying for all this. The nurse in question has been off work with stress ever since, which means one nurse less, one extra salary to fund for her replacement and potential exposure to litigation for the hospital.

But does the point come when someone who has rendered themselves incapable by alcohol relinquishes their right to be treated? Yes - the tabloids would blazon headlines the first time it happened “Injured mum of 7 left to die by ambulance” and so on, but few would realise that the ‘injured mum’ was, perhaps, an 18 year old, totally sloshed, spitting, biting, scratching and swearing who had only herself to blame for her predicament. That’s because the drunken female would say what she wanted to the press, but the hospital and authorities would have to keep their mouths shut because we live in a society dominated by those who know their ‘rights’.

Perhaps it’s time to take a long hard look at our culture and start to create a society in which those who injure others through alcohol or intent actually forfeit certain rights. We’d have a big issue with both the European court and the civil rights organisations, who could argue that none of us has the right to be both judge and jury, and that’s a very valid point. But if it was my child or my wife being abused, then I really don’t think I’d worry too much about the abuser’s rights. But then, perhaps it’s a good job we have the courts.

Choo, choo!

On a much happier note the little trains are doing extremely well this year. People love trains, and the narrow gauge variety particularly so. If the WA and Welsh Highland can resolve the issue over the money paid to repair a retaining wall, then there will be a way to travel from Llandudno to Caernarfon by train - three, in fact. If the new MD at Arriva reads this, he might be inclined to look at the possibility of a single transport ticket to take folk on a round trip from Llandudno, through some of the most stunning scenery imaginable, on a combination of gauges and transport types. The only place folk would have to leave the railway would be the short run from Caernarfon to Bangor - possibly on an open top bus - to catch a train back to Llandudno. It would certainly need a fair bit of planning and organisation but the results in terms of visitors could be well worth it.

The area needs vision, it needs entrepreneurs and it needs the income generated by imaginative tourist ventures such as this. Let’s hope things soon get on the right track.