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Ideas for the NHS

I THINK Peter Smith has misunderstood some parts of my letter — we are certainly not so far apart in our views as he suggests.

I agree with him that there is, already some sort of rationing in the NHS due to underfunding.

It used to be seen in the form of long waiting lists – with clinicians left to determine which patients took priority (on medical grounds); now it is devolved to Clinical Commissioning Groups (determined on financial grounds), which results in a postcode lottery.

My point is that any rationing should be explicit – and determined by Parliament; because it is they who determine how much money we will spend on the NHS out of the public purse.

They should decide which conditions will, and which will not, be treated under the NHS (having taken advice from the panel, proposed below).

I also agree with him that the front-line professional staff have long been overworked and underpaid – as I stated that is partly the cause of the problems of staff recruitment and retention. However, the history of the NHS shows (as he agrees) that successive governments have never provided adequate funds to meet the demand and I fear this will continue so long as the only funding comes from general taxation.

It is time to look at ways to augment the ‘income’ into the NHS – such as some sort of payment at the point of delivery – as happens in most other countries. This provides more supply and may reduce some (unnecessary) ‘demand’.

I regret that I did not clarify what I meant by “the need for discussion in a forum free from political dogma”.

I propose that there should be an independent inquiry by a panel of all stakeholders — to include representatives of the public (all potential patients), all groups of professional staff, and politicians from all political parties. Only then can we blow the final whistle on the silly game of political football!

MALCOLM MORRISON, Retired Surgeon, Prospect Hill,Swindon

We have no banks

I WOULD like to draw attention to the fact that, apart from cashpoint machines, there aren’t any banking facilities for people on the north side of Swindon.

This covers about seven housing estates, from Queensfield to Pennhill, Greenmeadow, Abbey Meads, Moredon, Woodhall Park, Pinehurst and Rodbourne and more.

The banks and building societies will lend our money out at about three per cent and give us a pittance for our investments.

I think one of them could open up some where on the north side, otherwise all the residents in those areas have to go into town to our do transactions and if cyber attacks do happen how much protection have we then got?

ROY SMALL, Greenmeadow, Swindon