Short-sighted management is the real reason behind the NHS crisis
SIR – NHS hospitals have postponed non-urgent operations to cope with winter pressures (Letters, January 4).
But why are peak periods not kept free of non-urgent surgery as a matter of course? The annual crisis in the NHS would never happen in the private sector. The public sector seems to be devoid of creative management. Don Edwards
Lawford, Essex
SIR – The lack of adequate resources in the NHS should come as no surprise.
The system was founded on a false premise – namely, the healthier it made the population, the less it would be required. However, the technological explosion across the health sector has rendered this model unsustainable. Nigel Mckie
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
SIR – I can’t help wondering what all the additional NHS resources and staff demanded by Labour politicians and trade unions would be doing at times when the system wasn’t “in crisis”. They would simply be waiting for the next crisis, because peaks and troughs in demand are inevitable. Bill Davidson
Newark, Nottinghamshire
SIR – In the early hours of December 30, I was admitted to hospital with an attack of acute breathlessness.
After a brief period in A&E I was moved into an assessment ward, where my condition was treated with oxygen and antibiotics. That evening, the doctors decided that it was not an infection and stopped the medication. I was moved to a private room, where I received no doctor’s visit, treatment or diagnosis until I saw the doctor who discharged me on January 2.
The nursing care was wonderful, but the nurses were crying out for beds. I question whether my further stay of two and a half days, which covered New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, should have happened. Christopher Pratt
Dorking, Surrey
SIR – Bed-blocking makes no sense whatsoever. What has happened to the convalescent homes where patients could go to complete their recovery?
This would free up hundreds, if not thousands, of hospital beds. Sue Webb
Winchester, Hampshire
SIR – It is clear that the present structure of our NHS is unsustainable.
Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, seems to lack the imagination to find a long-term solution. Is it not time for a cross-party group – combined with suitable representation from across the NHS – to outline a policy for the next 20 years?
Most importantly, the representation from the NHS should be skewed towards those who work on the shop floor, rather than those who believe they can manage this behemoth. The present arrangement has been failing for many years, and it is time for a radical review. Chris Mann
Sheffield, South Yorkshire