Your Letters: December 16

OUR NHS STAFF DESERVE BETTER

During a recent hospital stay, I was reminded of the wonderful, caring staff who work very long hours for little financial reward. Working with a lack of beds and forcing some patients to lie in corridors and staff to operate in. Labour has just announced the abandonment of the four-hour waiting and cutbacks. It seems only recently that we very naively (conned?) into believing the promises of Johnson and his stooges with coach-covered slogans promising millions of pounds a week extra and thousands more staff – not cutbacks!

We are told in the TV ads that the problem is easy to fix. Just go private. If you can't afford it you will probably have to wait a long time to get seen. So sign up now and start paying out. It's so simple. This is the USA style of medicine. If you cannot afford it, tough – stay ill and start taking very strong painkiller! This is how the government is trying to deceive you by the back door.

We know how terrible the USA system is unless you have large financial means to fall back on. It generates wonder bonuses for the companies, but no help for the needy. It really is time to compare our falling apart system with the Scandinavian system. Increase taxes and we could have a top NHS similar to theirs. But for that to occur we have to demand our government sorts out what the NHS was originally meant to be – for the majority of the people of the UK. Meanwhile, our concerns must surely be with the staff who will further suffer if the present conditions continue. They deserve better.

Roger Cain, Clee Hill

MARIE CURIE IS HERE TO HELP YOU

Christmas is such a special time of year. A chance to celebrate and create lasting memories with those closest to us. It’s also a time when we miss our loved ones the most.

But spare a thought for those people facing the last Christmas with a loved one, or the first without them – the festive season can be particularly challenging and difficult to navigate. Many families need help to get them through the season, and don’t know where to access the support they need.