It’s time to reform NHS

Although I applaud Lord Saatchi’s call for a Royal Commission on the NHS, he must be careful that he doesn’t get what he wishes for.

Our health service has always been unaffordable. Certainly, an ageing population and lifestyle abuses have made things worse, but it can never meet demand while it remains free.

We must follow all other Western democracies and have a national health insurance system, running in partnership with a thriving private healthcare sector. We must cease deifying one and demonising the other. Roy Daniels, Luton Problems with the NHS began with the systematic closures of A&E units. If you close units, there will inevitably be queues at those that remain open.

Cost-cutting exercises like this have contributed to the state the NHS is in today. Deena Palmer, Rugby