Scott Begbie: Where were the council gritters when we needed them?

A sharp rise in A&E visits due to icy pavements put unnecessary strain on the NHS last week, writes Scott Begbie.

I was briefly reminded of the lyrics from Walking in the Air last Friday, when I found myself doing just that.

But there wasn’t a magical snowman in sight – just a sheet of black ice that had been lying in wait for me at my front door, ready to send me airborne as soon as stepped on it.

To be fair, flying through the air wasn’t the worst part. I barely realised that had happened.

It was being slammed back onto the ground harder than a WWE wrestler that I wasn’t too keen on. That and having the wind completely knocked out of me, while it slowly sank in that I had fallen victim to the treacherous conditions of that icy blast.

So treacherous, in fact, that I couldn’t even get purchase to stand back up again. I had to roll over onto gravel before I could find my feet and decide just to suck it up and get on with the day.

Now, my hitting the deck on my own property was sheer bad luck on my own part. But, when I arrived in Aberdeen, the state of the pavements were down to the cooncil.

I tell you what, Torvill and Dean would have had their work cut out getting across the stretch outside Markies early on Friday.

The injury toll steadily mounted

As the day wore on, there were more and more tales of people slipping and falling on stretches of glass-like pavements. A colleague told of watching at least four folk take a tumble while he was getting his kids safely to school.

The toll of injuries at A&E steadily mounted during the day, and Aberdeen wasn’t the only one to fall short on the gritting front. Many of Stonehaven’s streets and roads were just as bad.

But why?

Surely, in this day and age, when even a seven-year-old can get a weather forecast on their phone, the cooncil high heid yins must have an inkling that they might need to ramp up the gritters?

And, yes, I know that freezing rain on top of gritted surfaces puts you back to square one. So, go do them again – and be quick about it. Where were the council gritters when we needed them?

After all, the steady stream of folk heading into A&E with injuries isn’t exactly helping an NHS system already stretched to breaking point.

I am just making paracetamol my best friend and being patient instead of being a patient

There were also plenty of folk injured who didn’t seek medical attention. I was one of them.

As Friday and the weekend rolled on, it became pretty obvious that I cracked some ribs when I smacked down onto the path. You can tell by wee things like the shooting pain when you try to sit down, stand up – and let’s not even discuss trying to get in and out bed.

But, seeing as the only treatment for damaged ribs is time and painkillers, I am just making paracetamol my best friend and being patient instead of being a patient.

See, that’s me doing my bit for the NHS. Now, can the cooncil do the same and, next time winter bites, pull out all the stops to keep people safe?

Scott Begbie is a long-time journalist and editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express