Forget Brexit fantasy, we all need a dose of reality

Shirley Conran, writer, Stephen King, novelist,

Charles Clarke, politician, Bill Murray, actor, Ethan Coen, film producer and scriptwriter, Simon Mayo, broadcaster, Curtly Ambrose, former cricketer, Faith Hill, singer

Ricki Lake, actress and talk show host, Luke Wilson, actor, Liam Gallagher, rock musician I SUPPOSE it was only a matter of time before someone introduced World War II into the Brexiteers’ argument. Truther in Tuesday’s Feedback is outraged that EU representatives seem to be saying that they will “teach us a lesson”.

I’m not sure that the sentiments are as Truther interprets them here. Maybe there is also something lost in translation.

I prefer to see the comments by Michelle Barnier and JeanClaude Juncker as a call for the UK to wake up and stop indulging in fantasy. We need a hefty dose of reality in our expectations of the EU negotiations.

I know David Davis and Boris seem to think that it will be a breeze to negotiate a settlement that doesn’t bankrupt the UK, indeed Davis actually used these words when asked about the difficulties some months ago. Don’t forget that David Davis, from Yorkshire or not, was actually described by Dominic Cummings, Vote Leave boss, as “thick as mince, lazy as a toad and vain as Narcissus”!

It is also claimed by Davis’ ex chief of staff James Chapman that he didn’t bother reading documents in his red box. With this man in charge it is no real surprise that EU negotiators urge a more grown up and mature debate.

We were never told the true cost of leaving the EU. Only now are those who lied to us having to face up to the reality of their dishonesty. Don’t blame the EU for the inadequacies of our leaders and their message.

Incidentally there were Free French, Poles, Czechs, Dutch and Belgians who also went over on D Day. Quite a few American troops were also involved with Italian and German ancestry.

Maybe we should consign the THE NHS provides excellent care to thousands of people day in, day out. We all have an understanding of the pressures the NHS faces, but this should not stop people from speaking up when things go wrong.

Data published last week by NHS Digital revealed that there were 208,400 complaints about the NHS in 2016-17. However, all too often, patients and their families are not fully aware of their rights. The NHS Constitution states that everyone has the right to complain, to have their complaint acknowledged within three working days, and to have the matter investigated.

It is important that patients are also aware that if they are dissatisfied with the way in which their complaint is handled, they have the right to contact us – the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) – for an independent and impartial view.

Where the PHSO upholds complaints, we recommend that the NHS puts things right by offering an appropriate remedy. This might be an apology, a financial remedy, the creation of action plans to ensure mistakes are not repeated, the introduction of additional staff training, or changes to procedures.

We see a wide variation in the quality of NHS complaint handling so it is imperative that people are not afraid to complain when mistakes are made.