Are today’s bad lifestyles crippling the NHS?

THE Care Quality Commission has shown courage in pointing out that part of the responsibility for the state of the NHS is the self-indulgence of many people. All-you-can-eat-for-a-fiver restaurant buffets should be banned, and there should be restrictions on the number of takeaway outlets per square mile. It would be fairer to treat patients with illnesses that could not be prevented before those who have brought their bad health on themselves. MARGARET BROWN, Burslem, Staffs. THE ‘reason’ hospital beds are at 91.4 per cent capacity (above the safe threshold of 85 per cent), doctors and nurses are leaving the profession, 4,000 nursing home beds have been lost since 2015, and 56 per cent of hospital trusts inspected and 20 per cent of care homes are rated as ‘inadequate or requiring improvement’ is down to the poor lifestyle of many. The problems the NHS faces would disappear if we all lived a state-approved lifestyle — and those with so-called lifestyle diseases had to get up off their beds and walk like Lazarus. MIKE GILLSON, Kirkbymoorside, N. Yorks. LIVING in a seaside resort, I can see the loss of self-respect in Britain and the pressure that the obese put on the NHS. Seriously overweight men and women waddle down the street, snacking as they go. Hotels and B&Bs report broken beds and people unable to get into baths and showers because of their size. G. A. BELL, Skegness, Lincs. YOU can abuse your body and not take responsibility for yourself, but the NHS will always be there, free of charge, to clear up the mess. This kind of attitude is costing us millions. Sooner or later the NHS will collapse under the weight of what’s expected of it. There needs to be a cultural change, so that people start to look after their own health. TED SHEPHERD, Windsor, Berks.