After 12 years of Labour government, care has never been worse. We all know what is wrong with care and don't need a "Big Debate" to tell us.

Care is obstructed by bureaucrats, restricted and rationed by eligibility criteria, means tested and privatised for profit. Carers receive the lowest benefit of all benefits and pensioner carers receive nothing at all. The whole purpose of this debate is to win votes and pave the way for more cuts and privatisation. This is not a debate. It is an edict.

I have lost count of the number of "debates" there have been yielding nothing but cost increases, deteriorating services, privatisation and bureaucracy.

The only time care gets a mention is before elections to give the impression something is being done when it isn't. And after the election, what then? Nothing but cuts and higher costs.

As the election draws nearer, you can bet Gordon Brown will roll out care to make him appear caring. But we only have to look at Afghanistan to know how caring he is.

Minister Hope and the Government should be pilloried for this hypocritical electioneering propaganda.

Care to Labour means only two things. Electioneering propaganda and an easy target to save money that has been given in bucket loads to the bankers.

From: Malcolm Naylor, Grange View, Otley.


Art event is trivialisation of epilepsy

From: Susan M Hirst, West Yorkshire.

YOU have reported on a forthcoming event in Bradford which will see an epilepsy sufferer try to induce a fit on stage. This trivialises epilepsy by parading it as "art" – and is fully funded by the Arts Council (Yorkshire Post, November 19).

The "dancer" is planning to induce seizures by not taking her medication and, instead, taking various stimulants.

I find it hard to believe that not only is this happening, it is also being funded by the taxpayer. What a gross treatment of a serious condition.

I live near Bradford and came across it on the venue's web page. If anyone would care to join me in voicing their concern, I suggest they also contact the Bradford Playhouse.

From: Angie King, communications officer, National Society for Epilepsy, Chesham Lane, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire.

AT the National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) we want to know what people with epilepsy most want and need to make a difference to their lives.

Could we ask your readers who have epilepsy, know someone with epilepsy, or are healthcare professionals, to spare a little time to visit the charity's website at www.epilepsysociety.org.uk and take part in a short survey to tell us what really matters to them?

The survey is part of a strategic review looking at the future of our charity's work for people affected by epilepsy. One in 20 of us will have a seizure at some point in our lives and nearly half a million people in the UK have epilepsy, so feedback really matters.


Yet more refugees

From: Terry Palmer, South Lea Avenue, Hoyland, Barnsley.

So much for this Government's curb on illegal immigration with the latest undercover project of theirs.

I understand that Britain has decided to accept 10 refugees from Malta as part of the EU's pilot project for the resettlement of "so-called" refugees. Malta, apparently, is being flooded with illegal migrants from Africa and one way of getting rid of some is to move them on to the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia, all on the say so of the EU.

The Maltese Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Carm Mifsud Bonnici, says: "Malta has consistently and relentlessly argued that it should not be left to face the pressures of illegal immigration from Africa alone because this is a European problem." Also: "The EU Pact for Immigration and Asylum, which was approved last year, addressed this issue tangibly by laying down the need for effective voluntary burden-sharing mechanisms to assist those European Union members which were facing disproportionate pressures from illegal immigration."

We, here in the UK, have enough illegal immigrants thank you very much and it's time this EU fawning Government of ours told the faceless wonders of Brussels to desist.


Ambulance priorities

From: Arthur Boynton, Brayton, Selby.

I WORKED for what was the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service for 32 years starting as a driver/attendant in 1960 and retiring as a senior ambulance paramedic training officer.

The station I started at had seven dual purpose ambulances which could be used for anything from outpatient work to full accident and emergency cover for a local population of about 15,000.

It now has two accident and emergency vehicles, and a rapid response car and designated outpatient vehicles which are not designed to be used in an emergency situation, and the local population has quadrupled in size.

Having targeted response times (Yorkshire Post, November 11) is totally unrealistic, considering the distances involved, in the rural Yorkshire areas but nobody seems to take this into consideration.

When management set out their objectives, they should first of all check that they are achievable. Sadly, a lot of the senior management have not worked as ambulance personnel and do not seem to understand the basic logistics of the tasks they are asking the front line staff to do.

Throwing money at the problem will not solve anything, and a radical rethink should be undertaken as a matter of urgency.


Decline of discipline

From: Alan W Briglin, Sefton Street, Hull.

READING Sue Cuthbert's letter (Yorkshire Post, November 18) about indiscipline in schools just reminds me of how much standards and discipline have declined over several decades.

Someone once said, many years ago, that being "born British was like winning a lottery". I don't think this applies any longer – with people like MPs and councillors, who are paid from the public purse, blatantly ripping us off, drunken louts acting disgracefully both here and abroad, pupils threatening to sue teachers if they lay a finger on them and sometimes not when they falsely accuse someone they don't like.

I attended a mixed secondary school in the 1940s and I never knew of one case of bullying or of any sexual misdemeanours between any of the pupils.

Compare that with what goes on today. There is violence, gun crime and muggings and elderly people who dare not venture out after dark.


An indication of motorists frustrated by hold-ups

From: Maureen MacGregor Hunt, Woolley, near Wakefield.

HOW many people have you noticed recently who do not bother to indicate at roundabouts? This appears to be a growing problem to which the only reaction is to wait to see where the vehicle is going.

In addition, drivers often zoom straight across the roundabout just ahead of the car which has the right of way. Nor is it unusual for a vehicle to go through traffic lights which are at red.

In other words, the standard of driving is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Presumably, this is due to frustration at the ever-increasing volume of traffic, exacerbated by roadworks and traffic jams.

Too many monkeys in too small a space become agitated and distressed. Is this what is happening to us when we feel trapped in our vehicles, often unable to move?

We had a tiny taste of this when a journey from one side of Wakefield to the other, which normally takes 25 minutes, took double the time because we set off at 4.25pm. The traffic in the centre of town was almost paralysed. Half an hour later, I know it would have been a great deal worse for the workers heading home.

With more houses and a burgeoning population, what will it be like in 20 years' time? I shudder to think.

Scotland beckons. Across the border there are plenty of open roads and, generally, it is still a pleasure to drive there. Long may it continue to be so.


Excellent care from the NHS

From: Betty Champion, Fulham Street, Beeston, Leeds.

THE NHS gets so much bad publicity that I felt compelled to write to commend the staff at Leeds General Infirmary
during the treatment of my husband, John.

He had been ill for a long time and was admitted during the early hours of Friday, November 13 and sadly passed away that morning, through no fault of the NHS. The care and attention he and my family received was excellent and has been so during his visits to hospital over the years. I know the NHS has many problems, but I do think a pat on the back is in order on this occasion.

Decisions over child migrants

From: Arthur Quarmby, Underhill, Holme, Holmfirth.

I AM sure we all agree with Bob Crowther of Crigglestone (Yorkshire Post, November 20) that the child migrant policy was appalling. But what I would like to know is who was responsible (it must surely have been passed through Parliament)? Were no voices of opposition raised in either the Anglican, Catholic or Methodist churches or the Salvation Army?

Was the one responsible for this crime perhaps the same person who decided at around that time that unlimited immigration from the countries of the Commonwealth was essential?

Keep our old school hours

From: Richard Appleyard, Lingfield Close, Saxilby, near Lincoln.

SO Dr Paul Kelley, the headmaster of Monkseaton High School, at Whitley Bay, North Tyneside wants his school to start at 10am instead of the normal 9am because he believes that it will aid learning.

That is just a silly excuse to shorten the school hours.

It makes me believe that the children of that school won't choose to have an extra hour in bed before they go to school. They ought to keep the school start time and finish time as it was when I was at school.

First class effort

From: Valerie Hall, Blaydes Street, Hull.

HAVING been a Yorkshire Post reader for many years, I was delighted to see how many prizes you won this year at the Yorkshire Press Awards (Yorkshire Post, November 14). Having lived in Hull and East Riding for most of my life, it has been my first read in the morning, as I am retired.