I would suggest that this second biggest council solve its own problems and not pass them on to their neighbours who do not have the resources that Launceston can call upon.  Perhaps a better solution would be for the bureaucrats that came up with this brilliance should be replaced by people who are interested in Northern Tasmania rather than just concentrating on their own council’s problems.  

The result of Launceston dealing with its own problems would be that Northern Tasmania become even more attractive to visitors and their own ratepayers. Perhaps the solution would be to sack the people who came up with such a short-sighted solution and actually install the tertiary treatment.  This  would improve the attraction of Launceston to visitors and allow us to actually enjoy the rivers running through the three councils, which jointly control the wonderful Tamar Valley.   

RECENTLY I have been in a state of ill health where I have been cared for four times a day by the nurses from the Community Rapid Response Unit (Tasmanian Health Service - state government funded) in Launceston. I could not have been looked after any better than what these nurses gave which was care, pleasant smile, understanding and knowledge in all areas of nursing.

They were always on time and if they were running late which was only on one occasion they rang and told you that they will be on their way. Over a period of six days’ treatment I had nine different nurses visiting me at different times all with smiles on their faces and a charming personality.

This service is government-funded but only for one year to see if it is going to be workable. I ask Health Minister Michael Ferguson to keep this going indefinitely as it is saving the hospitals thousands of dollars by the nursing staff visiting patients in homes instead of hospital beds where a huge amount of money is needed.

Many patients who go to hospitals don’t want to stay there if possible but would feel more comfortable to being treated by these nurses in their own homes. To Meredith and her team, thank you for your caring way toward me with the help and treatment I was given over the six days.

Mr Ferguson please continue on with this service indefinitely as it will in the long run benefit all those being cared for at home thus taking the burden off hospital staff and hospital funding for each individual patient, add that up over a year and see how much the saving is?

I WOULD like to congratulate the Mayor, Albert Van Zetten and the Launceston City Council on their leadership and forward thinking in the unveiling of their chalkboards for Seniors Week 2016 (The Examiner, October 11). We need to change the way we think about ageing and take active steps towards becoming more age-friendly which is exactly what these chalkboards do.

In the next 20 to 30 years, 25 per cent of our population will be aged 65 years and over; a profound social shift which requires an equally profound shift in our attitudes towards getting older. 

These chalkboards are an initiative which prove that becoming age-friendly is not about buckets of money, but rather embracing and celebrating our ability to live longer and grow older. Age friendly communities are not created with a one-size-fits-all approach and as Mayor Van Zetten said. We need the whole community to get involved.