Funding the NHS

sir – Those of us who have worked for the NHS find the perennial funding arguments tiresome.

Unlimited demand should never be financed solely from taxation on a free-for-all basis. Politicians who monopolise the supply, and control the demand of health services through rationing or charging for selected services (dental, optical and pharmacy), need to be relieved of their impossible task.

A new model of free secondary (hospital) care should be introduced, with a contributory national insurance scheme providing the necessary finance for primary care.

Dr Nigel J Knott

Seend, Wiltshire