Letter: Cure for the NHS
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: You report that staff shortages and lack of extra wards and operating sessions were to blame for patients having to be transferred to private hospitals("Private sector helps NHS to meet targets", 30 December).
In most hospitals, wards have been shut down and fewer nurses employed as deliberate policy to save money. The bed situation is made worse by emergency admissions - particularly medical admissions in surgical beds, which reach epidemic proportions during winter, thus interfering further with surgical lists. The disastrous "internal market" has caused diversion of money from NHS hospitals, made worse by hordes of "managers" with the single aim of balancing books at all costs.
The proposed changes by Mr Dobson will make sure that this state of affairs will continue and is likely to worsen. The NHS trust and health authority appointees have become entrenched. The smokescreen of new ideas and jargon will make sure that fundamental problems of inadequate funding and bureaucratic stranglehold are not dealt with.
T R KAPUR FRCS
Newcastle,
Staffordshire
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments