Letter:NHS cash wasted

Sir: The funding of the NHS has hit the headlines again, and again the arguments rage about efficiency and about underfunding. The government say spending on health has increased in real terms, and no doubt they are right. But where is the money going?

The introduction of the purchaser-provider split in the service has diverted resources away from clinical care. One of the real frustrations for clinicians is to watch a sizeable slice of the NHS cake being handed out on a plate to the ever-increasing army of accountants and managers employed to shuttle funds between purchasers and providers.

Can we not escape from the totalitarianism of the accountants and get back to spending the NHS money on patients?

HUGH J THOMSON

Consultant Surgeon, Birmingham