Nhs cash wastage

A recent tweet by Donald Trump about the NHS “going broke and not working” produced the usual hysterics. Yet he was merely echoing our Labour and Liberal parties.

At the same time, a deeply shaming report was published by the Lancet medical journal comparing the survival rates records of 38 million NHS patients with the most common cancers with 71 countries. Not only were we far behind the US and Western Europe, we also trail the likes of Turkey, Malaysia, South Africa and Argentina, which have much smaller health budgets than our monolithic monster.

Tim Briggs, the senior surgeon whose clinical efficiency audit of the NHS is the most comprehensive so far, says it doesn’t deserve any more money because it wastes so much with its poor practice. The NHS is widely criticised internationally and we could learn from the flexible, pragmatic systems of France and Switzerland. The fact is, a national health service doesn’t have to be “nationalised”. (REV DR) JOHN CAMERON

Howard Place, St Andrews

The NHS in the North of Scotland are caught in a classic “Catch 22” situation. When trying to achieve targets they are forced to spend over £215 million in the last ten years on expensive agency staff, thereby leaving them vastly over budget on staffing costs.

The SNP administration have failed miserably to tackle the staffing problems and need to conduct a complete review of nursing terms and conditions, otherwise this problem will persist and possibly get worse.

This situation also puts even more strain on the permanent staff who are having to induction-train agency staff whilst working 12-hour shifts and spending what free time they have studying for their nursing degree. It is not surprising that morale is at an all-time low in NHS Scotland. DENNIS FORBES GRATTAN Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn,

Aberdeen