Letter: NHS crisis on our doorstep

In the interests of balance you had to quote the “suits” of the health authority. I think I know who I would believe – the people at the sharp end of the service.

A very moving fuller article in last week’s Observer quotes a case of a person with acute heart problems who drove themselves to Scarborough Hospital as they “didn’t want to be a nuisance”.

We now spend less per head of population in Europe than most countries. The government’s priorities are to spend less and therefore run down the NHS, at which point they will throw up their hands in anguish to say we need to have another system. Probably an American style insurance plan where the poor are excluded. Privatisation is already sucking money out of the NHS as outsourcing to companies such as Virgin is taking place.

So people in Scarborough need to decide is the NHS worth fighting for?

Tom Farrell

Lairs Lane

Snainton