If the NHS is such a good idea, why’s no one copied it?

DOMINIC SANDBROOK’S article on the 70th birthday of the NHS (Mail) hit the nail on the head. I have nothing but praise for health service staff, but we need a detailed plan for the future.

The problem is that as soon as a politician suggests change, they are howled down.

At its birth in 1948, many could ill afford doctors’ fees, but times have changed. Today, most people pay to see a dentist or optician.

If the NHS is the envy of the world, why has no one copied it? When I lived and worked in Belgium, you could get an appointment to see a doctor straight away, paid for through insurance.

Back home, I recently had to wait three weeks to see my doctor, was immediately sent to hospital for an X-ray and then had to wait two weeks for a phone appointment to discuss the problem.

This is not a criticism of the staff, but a sign of how the health service is struggling.

Now is the time to question where the NHS is going, especially with an ageing population and all the problems that brings.

TREVOR HAYES, Knaresborough, N. Yorks. MY NIECE is an administration manager in a hospital where there used to be four deputy managers, eight assistant managers and one ward clerk for each ward.

Now there are nine deputy managers, 17 assistant managers and three clerks for each ward.

Why are millions being diverted from front-line NHS services to pay the salaries of those who are as useful as snowballs in a furnace? NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED.

American impress

AMERICAN ambassador Robert ‘Woody’ Johnson’s advice to hold our nerve and make the most of Brexit (Mail) was inspiring.

But we need to hear this message from our MPs — gloom from the Remainers has gone on too long.

The Anglo-American alliance has benefited both countries and I am glad the ambassador has every confidence in our ability to succeed. I hope no one will be allowed to spoil the welcome the u.S President is entitled to receive on British soil this week.

EILEEN PRIESTLEY, Lytham St Annes, Lancs.

Gentleman footballer

HOW good to read the tribute to Tommy Lawton, who, like harry Kane, scored for england in six consecutive matches (Mail). however, it was incorrect to say he died in poverty.

Yes, Tommy fell on hard times, but in the mid-eighties he was lifted out of it by the Nottingham evening Post, of which I was then editor. We drew attention to his plight and it sparked a re-awakening of interest in him. One of his former clubs, Brentford, held a testimonial game and cash poured in from the UK and foreign fans.

I gave him a job as a full-time football writer and Tommy was well and truly back on his feet. BARRIE WILLIAMS, Saltash, Cornwall.

I WAS lucky to have seen Tommy Lawton play. he was a real gentleman who never rolled around on the ground looking for penalties. DON RICHARD, Enfield, Middlesex.

Save our shops

I WAS born in Monmouth and am sad that so many shops have closed (Letters). This popular tourist town was once renowned for its small, independent shops.

Perhaps the county council should rethink its stealth tax on shop displays in the pedestrianised area otherwise Monmouth will become a ghost town. ANN SEARLE, Pickering, N. Yorks. I HAVE fond memories of enjoyable shopping trips to haverfordwest, but how things have changed! There is a banner across the road announcing ‘haverfordwest is open for business’ with the plea to ‘shop locally’. But on a recent trip, I spent a depressing hour looking for open shops.

The department store has long gone and many premises are shut up and almost derelict. Those that are left are shabby and neglected.

haverfordwest is a sad example of what happens when councils get carried away with out-of-town shopping centres.

ROBERT RHODES, Swansea.

Harsh sentences

I WAS disheartened that a former police officer has called for longer prison sentences (Letters).

I have spent 29 years in jail and am the world’s longest- serving transgender woman prisoner, in segregation in a men’s prison.

I do understand the human need for revenge — I see it on prison landings where prison officers struggle to prevent one prisoner from maiming another.

Many prisoners have a personality disorder, mental illness or autistic spectrum condition. In the past, they would have been treated in asylums, but these no longer exist.

As for the rest of prisoners, they will reach the end of their tether after being locked in a cell for 23 hours every day with little or no attempt at rehabilitation.

Many find it difficult to adjust to life outside and, rather than fear returning to the dangerous and dysfunctional prison system where record numbers are self-harming and committing suicide, they yearn for it. SARAH JANE BAKER, HM Prison Lewes, E. Sussex.