Changing rooms are no place for CCTV cameras

Readers discuss CCTV cameras. Other topics: US election and medical malpractice

Readers say there are better options than CCTV cameras in changing rooms. Pawan Singh / The National

With regards to Rym Ghazal's latest column, Do you know what happens in a restaurant kitchen? (November 10), I believe cameras have their place and purpose.

One of the fundamental principles of security is to see and not be seen, but I am totally against placing cameras in changing rooms because this is an invasion of privacy and is tantamount to spying.

As someone who works as a professional risk manager, I think the questions we must ask ourselves are what are the risks associated with changing rooms and does that risk warrant the use of cameras? Is there a trend of people being attacked or assaulted in changing rooms?

If the issue is theft of valuables, lockers would help mitigate the risk of stealing and that is what should be utilised by customers.

Randall Mohammed, Dubai

Apparently the cameras were being installed because some people were walking around naked in the changing room – something that is normal in saunas and spas in some cultures but which can be offensive here.

Using cameras to monitor this seems like a really creepy way to go about it. How about if someone is offended, they can make a complaint to security and then a security officer can discreetly tell the offender to cover up.

Chris Reid, Dubai

Cameras installed in changing rooms? What’s next – CCTV in bathrooms?

Let’s all treat each other as human beings, even if common sense is not actually all that common. We should not compromise and treat issues of safety as an excuse for this.

Mathew Litty, Dubai

The US vote was an awakening

Your article, America's 'white-lash' against a changing country (November 10), is off beam.

This was not a racial white-versus-the-rest result. As with the Brexit result in the UK, the real explanation lies in the awakening – in large part due to the new grass roots power of social media – in the consciousness of the majority politically slumbering population that their rights and interests were being salami-sliced away by a politically correct elite of know-it-alls. This occurred on a whole range of issues, ranging from same-sex marriage to pandering to politicised religion under the banner of “diversity” and “equality measures”.

Even if Mr Trump has no other virtues, he is not politically correct. For many, that was reason enough to put him in charge of overseeing their government.

What was needed was someone to swing the tiller to a different tack: democratic accountability combined with respect for the rights of the individual, which have been subsumed in past decades.

This result can only be good for people of genuine religious faith everywhere.

Name withheld by request

End this ‘witch hunt’ of doctors

The family of the man whose case is described in your news story, Dubai surgeon suspended after botching routine bypass that left patient brain damaged (November 11), has my heartfelt condolences and my wishes for a speedy recovery.

However I wish there would be an end to witch-hunting doctors. Brain damage is a risk if complications occur during this cardiac procedure.

He was resuscitated, which means he went into cardiac arrest which means he was dead. It takes time to revive a heart when it stops beating and that means oxygen is cut off to all organs, including the brain.

The only error I can see that the doctor in this case did was not keeping a proper written documentation of all the procedures and medication that he administered.

Dr Ahmed Samsudeen, India

This was a risk of this medical procedure and it could happen any where, at any time, by any doctor and to anybody.

Appropriate steps are being taken to discover what happened and how to cope with this situation. I pray for this man and his family. I also pray for the doctors and all the people affected by this.

Name withheld by request

In my open-heart surgery case in 2011, I was lucky to get professional treatment.

The cardiologist and infection doctor at the American Hospital were so professional that they recommended that I get this done in my home country, Finland, as they felt I would get probably better treatment.

Although the level of medical care here in Dubai is not always strong, I thought it was real professionalism to consider where the patient would get best treatment and for these doctors to admit their limitations.

Sonja Eliisa Viljaharju, Dubai