SIR – Sir Jim Mackey, the new NHS boss (The
Saturday Interview, June 28
), states that the service is deaf to criticism, has wasted a lot of money and sees patients as an inconvenience.
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The general public has known all this for far too long. One truly hopes that Sir Jim’s insight will bring about some real changes, and that he will have the strength to see them through.
Peter Rosie
Ringwood, Hampshire
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SIR – Sir Jim Mackey says “it feels like we’ve built mechanisms to keep the public away because it’s an inconvenience”.
I do find that, when I am able to see a doctor, I tend to start the conversation with the words: “I am sorry to bother you, but …”
If I were receiving any other service for which I was paying (as we do for the NHS through our taxes), it would never occur to me to say that.
Felicity Guille
London SW6
SIR – Sir Jim Mackey acknowledges the failure of the NHS and hopes that this bureaucratic Titanic might avoid its fatal iceberg. He identifies the walls erected by the NHS to obstruct access – not least the high one in front of primary care, which is the point of first contact for patients who choose not to abuse A&E departments.
Large general practices, often the result of mergers, should create a daily, open-access morning clinic for patients who perceive their problem to be urgent; after receiving a ticket, they would be seen in order. Each GP would take turns to run the clinic. The early weeks would overwhelm, but demand would start to settle down. Some patients, after waiting for several hours, would realise their problem was not urgent, and opt for an arranged appointment.
Remote consultations can never compete with the doctor-patient chemistry in the consultation room.
Dr Adrian Crisp
Weston Colville, Cambridgeshire
SIR – Your Leading Article (“
Reform the NHS, not our shopping baskets
”, June 29) discusses Labour’s plan to introduce yet more heavy-handed measures. Forcing shops to promote fruit and vegetables will not address the causes of obesity. Better education, for instance, could genuinely help to combat it, but piling more regulations on to shops will only push prices higher – something no one wants.
Charlie Temple
Billericay, Essex
SIR – The plan for cutting the calorie content of the average shopping basket is a step in the right direction, but does not go far enough. I suggest recruiting food police to stand at checkouts and fine us £5 for each non-government-approved item in our trolleys – reduced to £2.50 if we return the item to the shelves. Fines for bottles or cans of alcoholic drinks would, naturally, be much higher.
Max Sawyer
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Hatred at Glastonbury
SIR – Emily Eavis, the organiser of Glastonbury Festival, has claimed that “everyone is welcome here” (
report, June 26
) – except, it would appear, Jewish people and Israelis.
The BBC broadcast of the group Bob Vylan, whose singer led chants for the death of Israeli troops defending their homeland (
report, June 29
), was grotesque, and a perversion of the supposed liberal ideals underpinning the festival – along with the impartiality of the corporation.
Alan Tomlinson
Cheadle, Cheshire
SIR – Did the Glastonbury organisers really not suspect what would happen when Kneecap and Bob Vylan took to the stage?
As for the BBC – how much longer must we be forced to fund this organisation?
Simon Malcolm
Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
SIR – While I rarely find myself defending the BBC, it is not the party at fault in this instance. Rather, it merely shone a light on the disturbing nature of modern popular culture.
During a performance, Bob Vylan and the crowd chanted together: “Death, death to the IDF.” The singer then concluded with: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be, must be, inshallah, it will be free.”
This is the madness our society appears to be embracing.
Ben Lazarus
Yad Binyamin, Israel
SIR – It will be interesting to see whether Bob Vylan face a similar penalty to that of Lucy Connolly.
Edward Hill
Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire
Questions for Starmer
SIR – The Prime Minister’s assertion that his “common sense” welfare reforms now strike “the right balance” is an admission that his original ones – over which Labour MPs threatened to rebel – did not. What sort of balance, then, did he believe they struck?
Roger Wilson
Charter Alley, Hampshire
SIR – Sir Keir now regrets having warned that Britain could become an “island of strangers” (
report, June 28
).
Does this mean he doesn’t believe what he said? What exactly are his views on mass immigration to Britain?
Ron Stark
Pinner, Middlesex
Elizabeth II memorial
SIR – In the winning submission for a memorial to Elizabeth II
(report, June 24
), the one feature with unquestionable merit is the equestrian statue. But it should not be in St James’s Park; it should be on a plinth in the middle of The Mall, opposite the memorial to the late Queen’s parents.
Statues in streets are not unusual and not necessarily dangerous. Look at Whitehall.
Dr Christopher Tadgell
Historian of architecture, landscape and urban design
London SE18
Always prepared
SIR – My children and grandchildren, as well as adult friends, are amused by what I keep in my wallet
(Letters, June 25
): my Grade IV National Service card dated December 9 1959, some sweet coupons (D and E) and a $100 trillion Bank of Zimbabwe note.
You never know when you might need one of these.
John Barnett
New Barnet, Hertfordshire
Underqualified MPs
SIR – I agree with L F Buckland (
Letters, June 27
) that independent thinking is very rare in modern politics. A large part of the reason for this is the quality of MPs we have in Parliament.
In striving for a broader cross-section of society, we have “dumbed down” the House of Commons. Many, if not most, of the current cohort would not be suitable for a private-sector job paying £93,904 per annum, plus the whole host of benefits they enjoy as MPs.
So as not to lose their seats at the trough, many MPs simply conform, doing whatever is required to keep them in the job. Thinking independently is too much of a hazard.
Andrew Holgate
Nether Alderley, Cheshire
Anti-theft inspiration
SIR – Shoplifting is said to be out of control in Britain (
report, June 18
).
I was recently in Tenerife, where the local Lidl required customers to scan their receipt barcodes in order to exit the store. Meanwhile, the adjacent petrol station required payment before the petrol or diesel could be dispensed.
Steve Roberts
Falmouth, Cornwall
Don’t feed the birds
SIR – I’m happy to hear that A Rawlings enjoys the regular visits of a seagull to her garden
(Letters, June 27
).
However, I hope this bird doesn’t visit Lyme Regis or other Dorset coastal towns, where it is already impossible to enjoy a pasty or ice cream without being harassed by gulls. This behaviour is encouraged by people feeding them.
Chris Yates
Peasedown St John, Somerset
SIR – Last week, I watched as a magpie flew into my garden and dropped a large piece of bread into the bird bath.
It then proceeded to flip the bread over several times, waiting patiently. Finally it grabbed it, put it on the grass and pecked away until it was all gone.
Clearly the bread had been stale, so it needed to be softened up.
Gillian Powell
Wickford, Essex
SIR – The decline in Britain’s bird population is attributed in part to a lack of insects. But clean car windscreens are not evidence of this (
Letters, June 25
); they are the result of improved aerodynamics in car design.
Bob Shute
Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire
Apples with real flavour are a fading memory
SIR – It’s not just British Cox apples that are missing from shops (Le
tters, June 27)
: it’s any variety with flavour. Gala, Pink Lady and Jazz now appear to be the only ones available.
Pauline Hay
Epsom, Surrey
SIR – In years gone by, we would purchase a box of carefully selected and packed Cox’s Orange Pippin apples in late October, from the Harwell orchards in Oxfordshire, and keep them for Christmas. Alas, this wonderfully flavoursome apple fell foul of the more commercial varieties, which are grown for the consistent yield and appearance that supermarkets require.
If you are lucky enough to track down a Cox, these days it is unlikely to be an Orange Pippin, with that delicious, champagne-like burst on the first bite.
Barry Sheldon
Cholsey, Oxfordshire
SIR – Regarding fruit sandwiches (
Letters, June 28)
, my mother made hers with apple or banana. I have always thought she was ahead of her time in the kitchen: she grilled food when possible, rather than frying it, for instance. She did fry chips – but in olive oil, not animal fat.
Carol Parkin
Poole, Dorset
SIR – My favourite fruit sandwich, which I discovered as a child, is sweet cherries in white buttered bread. Delicious.
Wendy Lang
Kingswood, Surrey
How to get HS2 construction back on track
SIR – Chris Potter
(Letters, June 26
) contrasts the fast building of the Settle-Carlisle railway line in the 19th century with the construction of HS2. Julie Hewitt (
Letters, June 28
) points out that the navvies recruited for the former were paid a pittance, and overworked.
It should be perfectly possible to build HS2 at pace and still have decent safety standards. I say this with some authority, as I am a trade union safety representative. I have spoken to workers on HS2, and they all say that layers of red tape, not related to safety, are causing delays. Those in charge need to listen to these workers and scrap all rules that are not safety-critical. This would speed things up and give the project a greater sense of mission. We are doing this for UK plc.
The truth is that HS2 needs to go further north. It should be extended to Glasgow and Edinburgh, and to Belfast via tunnel. That would make these areas more attractive to investors and businesses, which would help to take care of the cost.
John Barstow
Fittleworth, West Sussex
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