NHS priorities

sir – I wonder who is going to be staffing these 800 new ambulances (Leading Article, January 31), given that it takes three years – and some £50,000 – to become a paramedic thanks to the requirement for a degree.

And where will they be kept? Most ambulance stations have a handful of vehicles. Is the plan to park them outside hospitals in long queues?

Instead of more ambulances, we need faster discharges from hospital. Patients should be sent home, where they can get back to being mobile with technology to support them.

Annabelle Sanderson Bradford-on-avon, Wiltshire

sir – I managed to cost the NHS £160 twice on Monday by missing the same appointment for a pre-op assessment.

The letter said one hospital, the text messages said another and I was actually supposed to be at a third. I had, of course, failed to get through to anyone who could tell me where to go.

Angela Bragg Bromley, Kent

sir – My recent experience with a blood test shows that technology (Letters, January 31) can improve service and reduce administrative manpower for routine tasks.

I received notification of the need for a blood test by text, booked an appointment via the NHS app, attended a few days later at 9.30am, received the result at 3pm via associated software and found it logged in my NHS app at 4.30pm.

Liz Burgess Burgess Hill, West Sussex

sir – With insatiable demand being one of the biggest challenges facing the NHS, the latest government announcement on the distribution of resources continues to address only the supply side of the equation and will do little or nothing to improve overall performance.

Without measures to address demand, including encouraging people to take more responsibility for their own health care, the Government is continuing to back a broken model.

Ian Mackenzie Preston, Lancashire