The Herald

New Champion for Nhs Patients

PATIENTS who have problems with the NHS are to get a national network of advocates. A new scheme will allow people concerned about the care they receive from any part of the health service to turn to a dedicated adviser in their area, who can either help them resolve the matter or take forward a complaint. It is hoped the initiative will help fill a gap in support left when health councils were axed nearly a year ago.

Farm Owner Among Three Charged Over Gbp53m Raid

THREE people were charged last night in connection with the GBP53m Securitas raid. Kent Police said John Fowler, 57, the car salesman whose country home has been searched for four days, had been charged with conspiracy to rob the Tonbridge depot.

The Wrong Kind of Snow

Axing of Erskine Bridge Tolls Splits Country

TOLLS on the Erskine Bridge are to be axed, it was confirmed yesterday, but at the price of an outcry from the east of Scotland that charges are to stay on the Tay and Forth road bridges. The moves were expected, but this did nothing to dampen the reactions from opposite ends of the country.

Anger at Stv As Grampian Disappears

Scottish Television provoked an angry backlash yesterday when it announced plans to wipe out the identity of its sister station, Grampian Television. Their owner, SMG, said the two would be unified under a single brand, STV, this year, and the Aberdeen-based station's separate identity would go after more than 40 years. Politicians condemned the move. Ted Brocklebank, Tory MSP and former broadcaster at Grampian, said: "I think it is an extremely sad day for ITV and a very, very sad day for Gr...

Spending On Ppp Schools Reaches Gbp111m in Five Years Msp Calls It a Waste of Taxpayers' Money

ANNUAL spending on privately-financed schools in Scotland has grown nine-fold to GBP111m in five years. The revelation came as an MSP last night told Holyrood that at least one public-private partnership (PPP) deal for schools "stinks to high heaven".

Child's Play

Bank Staff Cash in with Gbp4500 Bonus

ANOTHER bank has handed out a windfall to its staff after record profits, with a bonus of almost GBP4500 at Bank of Scotland and Halifax. The parent group, HBOS, had pre-tax profits of GBP4.8bn. The group's 17,700 staff in Scotland will receive a total bonus of GBP77.9m, comprising GBP61.6m in cash, plus GBP16.3m in free shares. The cash element averages about 11-per cent of salary.

The Cash Cuts That Mean Curtains the End of Regular Long Term Aid From the Scottish Arts Council has Led to Despair and Outrage, Writes

THREE of Scotland's best known theatre companies face closure, and two more have uncertain futures, after being told they will receive no more long-term funding from the Scottish Arts Council. After a day of high drama, 7:84, Borderline Theatre and Theatre Babel found out yesterday that in future they will be able to apply only for special one-off grants from the SAC, effectively ending their lives as full-time companies. To add to what was described by Equity as a "crazy and unnecessarily dr...

Pledge Is Tonic for Hospital

THE makers of Buckfast wine have donated a further GBP100,000 to help Scottish cancer patients. The donation brings Buckfast's cash support for victims of the disease in Scotland to GBP520,000 in the past six years.

Grampian Television to Disappear in Broadcasting Merger with Scottish

GRAMPIAN Television, which has served the north of Scotland for more than 40 years, is to disappear, the station's owner said last night. The move by SMG to merge Grampian and Scottish Television into a single identity - STV - later this year provoked a furious reaction from politicians, who questioned the company's commitment to regional programming.

Kirk 'Preparing Way for Civil Partnerships for Ministers'

A KIRK report on the implications of the civil partnership laws is preparing the way for openly homosexual ministers to enter into such a union and continue their calling, it has been claimed. Forward Together, an evangelical group within the Church of Scotland, says the prospect of civil partners living in manses would dismay the majority of church members as well as many of its ecumenical partners.

Policeman On Ibrox Race Abuse Charge

Gbp270 Result for Football Fan

Honours for Midge Ure and Sir Jackie

Nhs Criticised Over Lack of Dignity Shown to Patients Ombudsman Says Staff Should Be Respectful

A WATCHDOG expressed concern yesterday about the lack of dignity shown towards patients by some NHS staff and backed a complaint from a man who felt ridiculed during a hospital stay. Alice Brown, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, spoke after upholding issues raised by the patient - which also included discovering that someone suspected of having meningitis was examined in his hospital bed.

Britons Tell of Torture by Egyptian Jailers

THREE Britons jailed in Cairo for membership of an outlawed Islamic fundamentalist group said last night they had been repeatedly tortured. Ian Nisbet, 32, from London, whose father Alistair is from Tayport, Fife, said he and his two friends had been imprisoned by a "brutal and evil" regime.

Police Question Six People Over Gbp53m Cash Robbery

SIX people were being questioned last night about Britain's biggest cash robbery as police continued to scour the luxury country home of businessman John Fowler. Kent police refused to comment on reports that money had been recovered from Elderden Farm in Staplehurst, but officers spent a fourth day searching the property.

Rambler Tries to Stand Trial Naked

Blizzards Close in and Trap Travellers On Trains Sleeper Was Five Hours Late

SCORES of passengers were stranded on trains for several hours yesterday as blizzards brought transport chaos to the north of Scotland for the second day. Air and road users were also seriously affected as snow swept across the Highlands and the north-east.