NHS meddling

SIR – Michael Fallon (Comment, March 7) draws attention to the numerous reorganisations which have taken place in the NHS over the last three decades, at great cost to taxpayers.

However, it has been politicians who have initiated many of these. In my time working for the NHS, we experienced six major reorganisations in 30 years. The last one, initiated by Andrew Lansley in 2012, at a cost of almost £3billion, was a waste of time and money.

Politicians’ constant meddling – and their desire to be seen to be doing something – is part of the problem. Monica Saunders

Teddington, Middlesex

SIR – Mr Fallon states that there have been 19 different bodies “running” the NHS in Sevenoaks since he became an MP there 21 years ago.

He goes on to say that there are now 32,000 senior managers in the NHS with salaries over £65,000 a year – seven per cent up on a year ago.

Is it possible that the second observation explains the first? There have to be constant reorganisations in order to justify the numbers of senior managers. And yes, of course this money would be better spent on more front-line staff. They are critically overstretched everywhere.

I worked for the Blood Transfusion Service for 15 years. We were always “gaining” extra administrators, although we could never work out what most of them did. Andrew Puckett

Taunton, Somerset