YP Letters: Who has right prescription for the NHS?

From: Dr Robert Heys, Bar Lane, Sowerby Bridge.
Junior doctors on a picket line outside Leeds General Infirmary.Junior doctors on a picket line outside Leeds General Infirmary.
Junior doctors on a picket line outside Leeds General Infirmary.

ANDREW Vine (‘Political bickering insults those who built our NHS’, The Yorkshire Post, February 9) rightly deplores the public squabbling between Labour and the Tories as to which should take the credit for founding that important institution.

He does not, however, mention the key role of that great Liberal statesmen William Beveridge, renowned as “the architect of the Welfare State” which was an important step on the road to the establishment of the National Health Service.

From: John Eoin Douglas, Spey Terrace, Edinburgh.

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IT is time for junior doctors to take their gloves off in their fight against the Health Secretary.

While a long-term strike might be considered to contravene the Hippocratic Oath, surely nobody could find fault with medics who simply refused to accept the new contract and resigned from their posts?

Of course they would then be at liberty to register with temporary agencies to work at whatever was the going rate. This would doubtless be more expensive for the NHS than simply settling with the BMA, but I cannot see any government allowing hospitals to close when there was a ready supply of suitable doctors available in the free market.

From: Hugh Rogers, Messingham Road, Ashby.

WHEN considering any statement from the doctors’ trade union, one should always remember that, historically, the BMA never wanted a National Health Service at all.

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These days they talk glibly about saving “our” NHS and “patient care” to justify industrial action, but the reality is that like most trade union disputes, it’s about the welfare (ie pay) of their members. Nothing more, nothing less.

Whether you feel sorry for the majority of junior doctors having to make do with a 13 per cent pay increase depends, I suppose, on whether a) you’ve just had a massive pay rise yourself, b) you can make sure you don’t fall sick on a Saturday and c) whether that operation you’ve been waiting for has been postponed (again) due to industrial action on the part of those whose job it is to take care of you.

From: Coun Tim Mickleburgh (Lab), Boulevard Avenue, Grimsby.

I THOUGHT it was somewhat unfortunate that the junior doctor protester pictured on your front page (The Yorkshire Post, February 11) was carrying a banner reading “Storm Jeremy Wrecks NHS”. For the first Jeremy you think of these days is the Labour leader!

From: David Burke, Middleham.

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IT’S a good job Saturday shop workers don’t demand the wage concessions that junior doctors expect. The country would soon be bankrupt.

This is where
water bills go

From: Richard Flint, Chief Executive, Yorkshire Water.

AS of April 1, domestic customer bills will be going up by a total of around £5 a year to £366, and I wanted to take this opportunity to explain how your money helps us improve our services.

In terms of how we spend your bill, the vast majority of it (34 per cent) will be on protecting and improving the water environment, which is of paramount importance to us. For example, this means safeguarding sea and river water quality. Since the 1980s, Yorkshire’s coast has been transformed and now has some of the cleanest bathing water and best beaches in the UK.

Another key part of your bill (28 per cent) will be spent on making sure you always have enough water. Most people consume around 142 litres of water a day and it’s our job to make sure you always have enough. This means investing in our 130 raw water reservoirs as well as our 31,000 km underground network of pipes to ensure constant delivery from our treatment works to your taps.

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Finally, another crucial area is taking care of the waste water we treat and protecting you and the environment from sewer flooding. This accounts for 18 per cent of your bill.

Since privatisation in 1989, we have spent £20bn on maintaining and improving water infrastructure which as a result means we now have truly world-class services. Money from your bills is re-invested to help maintain this status.

EU accident in waiting?

From: Ian Oglesby, High Catton Road, Stamford Bridge.

UNLESS personally involved in a rail crash, most people soon forget these tragic events.

After other rail accidents in Europe, I pointed out (The Yorkshire Post, December 16, 2015) that high speed trains cannot be guaranteed to be free from terrible accidents.

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The astronomical cost of HS2 and the appalling effect upon the countryside and established communities are reasons to apply the brake. Projected fares will be affordable by the few, plus others travelling at public expense, to gain a few minutes on journey times, but we all pay via taxes.

A fraction of this expense could immeasurably improve the existing rail system, including safety aspects but the EU demands its “route deux” and our politicians will lean over backwards, as usual.