I READ in your ‘On the Wire’ column a comment from Caroline Conn, saying her GP had told her that physio services in the NHS were being privatised. This is simply not true.

Physiotherapy is provided by the NHS and is free at the point of use.

The MSK physiotherapy service is experiencing a high demand, but is not being privatised.

Patients can be referred by their GP but can also to self-refer directly to the MSK Physiotherapy service. Patients are prioritised according to clinical need.

The referral management centre offers any cancellations to patients at short notice but a substantial number of appointments are lost each month when patients forget to cancel and then do not turn up.

In July alone, 2000 appointments were wasted in this way, with a further 1500 in August.

The Physiotherapy service also promotes the use of NHS Inform, which can provide advice and exercises for problems which are prioritised as routine and therefore have the longest wait.

I hope this information clarifies the situation.

Chris Rowley, interim director of allied health professions

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

I HAVE been going to the market at Alexandria outlets on a Saturday morning with my grandson Adam.

We have both picked up a lot of bargains over the years.

We are outraged and sad to hear that the outlets have been bought over.

The stall holders, mostly regulars for a few years now, have been told that can't sell their goods anymore on the premises outside. We are sure we aren't alone. What next is being cut or changed for us locals.

Vatina and Adam, West Dunbartonshire

LAST week saw a particularly sordid spectacle in parliament with MP's, who had previously shown zero interest in Venezuela, mouthing ill informed comments.

Both the Tories and ring wing Labour see Venezuela as a weapon to attack Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Corbyn has quite rightly celebrated the achievements of the Venezuelan government since the election of socialist President Hugo Chavez in 1998 as poverty has been vastly reduced and health care and education has been expanded, this is despite serious attempts to sabotage the economy by corporate interests both internally and externally.

There has been repeated attempts to overthrow the elected government of Venezuela over the last 20 years by violent right wing forces bent on regime change.

Currently President Maduro and his supporters are facing vicious right wing gangsters on the streets who seek to force the President from office before next year's elections.

The joint trade unions in West Dunbartonshire have organised a discussion with speakers from the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign as a small contribution to counter the disgraceful biased reporting of the mainstream media on the situation in Venezuela.

A special invite is extended to Martin Docherty-Hughes MP who has been critical in Parliament of this left wing government.

Details of the meeting are:"The Truth About Events In Venezuela,", Speakers from Venezuela Solidarity Campaign: Frieda Park and Phil McGarry, Wednesday, September 20 at 7pm in Clydebank Town Hall, 5 Hall St, G81 1UB, All welcome.

Tom Morrison on behalf of UNISON, UNITE, GMB, EIS, and CLYDEBANK TRADE UNION COUNCIL

HOW disappointing that Cllr Jonathan McColl has decided to continue with his Trumpian tribute act by doubling down on the fake news about the Vale of Leven Hospital.

The cold hard facts show that the health board is still planning a review to cut GP out of hours and even the chairman himself has ordered staff not to reveal any information on where the service will be based in future.

Yet the Council Leader doesn’t want to accept the reality and he is still telling people that the service has been secured at the Vale.

It’s time for the SNP and WDC to get behind the community and stop playing games with our local health services.

Jim Beattie, via e-mail.

THE fact that NHS GGC’s chair is prepared to tell PR chiefs in private to stick to the script and keep silent about the cuts being planned after the review should finally dispel any myths about the health board’s intentions.

The internal health board emails show that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is trying to play all of us for fools.

The emails were written by health board officials just after the SNP claimed that the battle was won and the Vale GP service was secure.

The jester-in-chief, WDC Leader Jonathan McColl, has clearly been used by the health board to distract campaigners and throw them off the scent while officials get on with the work of dismantling our local services.

If he has any respect for himself and his constituents, Cllr McColl should get back to the health board and fight for an unambiguous guarantee for GP OOH at the Vale.

Christopher Fagan, via e-mail.

THERE is no doubt that a great many of your readers will have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

Unfortunately, we have found that many people with diabetes feel they do not have enough information to help them to manage and understand their diabetes, so the InDependent Diabetes Trust (IDDT) has produced FREE booklets.

Our booklet, ‘Understanding Your Diabetes’, helps people to have a better understanding of the differences between the two main types of diabetes.

Two of our other booklets, ‘Type 2 Diabetes – Management and Medication’ and ‘Type 1 Diabetes – Know the Fact’ provide more information about each condition.

Eating the appropriate diet is part of the treatment of diabetes but many people feel they are unsure about what they can and can’t eat.

Our booklet ‘Diabetes – Everyday Eating’ helps with this, as it contains 28 days of menus of everyday, affordable meals, and much more.

In addition, at this time of year, children with diabetes may be starting new schools and we have a ‘Passport for Schools’ to help parents provide information to teachers and ‘What Schools Need to Know’ to help teachers to look after children with diabetes.

All our booklets provide information in non-medical language to help people understand their particular treatment, improve their health and to make life easier.

If your readers contact IDDT, they can obtain FREE copies of the above leaflets.

Telephone: 01604 622837 or e-mail: enquiries@iddtinternational.org

Jenny Hirst, InDependent Diabetes Trust.

WITH reference to the objections published in the Reporter and on Facebook to the recently installed gates at the Milton Brae entrance to Overtoun Estate, readers may be interested to know that Silverton and Ovetoun Community Council objected to West Dunbartonshire Council about this proposal in 2016.

We were alerted to this proposal by George Black, then Independent Councillor for Milton and Bowling.

We first contacted Donald Petrie, WDC Access Officer, to find out the legal position, and were informed that the installation of the gates would not be contrary to Access Legislation, under the Land Reform Act 2003.

As long as pedestrians, cycles, horses and if possible wheelchairs, could access the estate, the gates were legally permissible.

However, we persisted in our objection, not on the grounds of access, but that the gates would be paid for out of public funds.

We argued that if the thefts and vandalism affected the tenant and his organisation's possessions, then the tenant should pay for the gates.

Our objection was over-ruled by WDC.

Our CC also challenged last year, again unsuccessfully, the tenant's right to exclude the public from the use of the ground-floor toilets unless they were using the tea-room when it was open.

Readers may also be interested to know that our CC did have partial success in a legal challenge to the tenant of Overtoun House in 2007, when he requested a variation in the length of his Lease, first granted in 2001, from 19 to 99 years.

In Dumbarton Sheriff Court we forced a compromise for an extended Lease of 35 years. Not ideal, but better than 99 years. This means that the Lease expires in 2036.

Hopefully some readers will still be around then to urge a termination of the Lease, so that Overtoun House may then be considered for a wider public use.

Rose Harvie, Silverton and Overtoun Community Council.