NHS in disarray

SIR – Twice my life has been saved by practitioners within the NHS – first when I contracted severe double pneumonia in 2016, and then after I suffered a massive pulmonary embolism in 2018. However, it is apparent that the whole system is unsustainable, requiring a bottomless pit of money, and groaning under the weight of bureaucracy. If the entire wealth of the nation was poured into the NHS, it still wouldn’t be enough. Last week I tried to make a pastoral visit to a friend who had been rushed to hospital. I sought but never found her on the first day. The area she was in had dozens of people on trollies. The staff were trying to do their best in the worst of circumstances. Fortunately, the next morning, my friend had been transferred to a bed in a ward, and I was able to be with her and her family as she died peacefully. The doctors and nurses were outstanding in the care they proffered. Why can’t politicians of any hue acknowledge the need for a new healthcare system that gives dignity to the sick and dying? Rev Michael J Maine Ditchling, East Sussex SIR – Could someone advise me as to what exactly Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, is doing to justify her salary of a quarter of a million pounds? She seems to be accountable for nothing, as all the blame for the pay and working conditions of nurses, doctors and ambulance staff has been heaped on the Government. Surely she should be addressing these matters, like any chief executive of a private company. Janet Rodger Wells, Somerset