NHS emergency

SIR – On Wednesday morning, at 9am on the dot, I rang my NHS surgery. A recorded voice told me I was number one in the queue, but that if it was “an emergency, such as vomiting blood”, I should dial 999. If my problem was “routine”, however, I should hold.

I then spoke to a receptionist, who snootily informed me that unless my call was an emergency I would have to ring back at 10am; and no, she was not able to book me in there and then.

Two points: what constitutes an emergency (does being unable to walk due to a very painful foot count?), and if I was meant to ring 999 for whatever an emergency is, why is the surgery answering the phone at all between 9am and 10am? Veronica Timperley

London W1

SIR – Every nurse, doctor and NHS employee who is working flat out to give patients the best possible care will be insulted to be called an “enemy of the British people” (Comment, April 10).

Yes, public satisfaction with the NHS is at an all-time low, hit by people’s experience of the relentless “demand outstripping capacity” challenges that face not just A&E but all departments in medical and social care. Today, the NHS must contend with some of the toughest conditions in its history.

Nobody wants people to have long waits for the care they need, and trusts have cut the longest waiting times, while doctors and nurses are seeing many more patients than before Covid. Years of soaring demand and a shortage of resources have piled pressure on the NHS, which was intensified by the pandemic. Meanwhile, over the years our healthcare system has been given fewer resources than those of similar countries.

Public support for the fundamental principles of the NHS remains rock solid, but for NHS teams to be able to give people first-class care we need sustainable investment, backed by the long-overdue reform of social care. Saffron Cordery

Deputy Chief Executive NHS Providers London SW1