THE report ''Pledge by Labour to ban NHS trusts'' (February 15) can
only be read with dismay both by staff working in the NHS and, very
importantly, by patients. The last thing the NHS in Scotland needs is
another reorganisation, with all its turbulence and uncertainty. (By my
count we have had five restructurings in the past 20 years.)
There is a real danger that patients' needs are not being addressed in
this debate. NHS trusts were set up to improve patient services. There
is real evidence this is starting to happen in the trusts already
established. I am confident the new trusts will do likewise.
To indicate that trusts will be brought back into the NHS is
misinformation on a grand scale. Trusts are firmly in the NHS and
provide treatment free at the point of need -- the founding principle of
the NHS.
D McNeill,
Chief Executive,
South Ayrshire Hospitals
NHS Trust,
Ayr.
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