Saturday's Letters: Superb NHS care is better than in New York

I visit Britain quite often and hear about the NHS from many relatives and friends. They all give it high marks though they do complain about waiting periods for non-emergency care.

A couple of years ago, I had a sudden urinary problem which was treated in the emergency room of a big city hospital in London, late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, with follow-up care here in an expensive Fifth Avenue practice. The episode lasted three weeks: one week plus in the UK, the rest here. The care in New York was adequate but expensive, and I would not have much to say about it apart from the contrast with London where it was superb.

In London, the first question was what my problem was; in New York it was whether I had Medicare and a supplement, and cards to prove it, and had I signed to be responsible if either failed to come through.

In London, I got a local anaesthetic before treatment, not strictly necessary but very welcome all the same; in NY not even the offer. In London, I was kept in the hospital for a few hours until they had finished a battery of tests and they also gave me instruction on what to do if I had any problems.

The nurse even brought me a cup of tea while I was waiting for test results – again not strictly necessary but very welcome all the same. No charge for anything, even the tea, except for the small, fixed co-pay for the prescription that they filled for me on the spot (in the early hours of Sunday morning, remember) – and that was waived because I am over 65.

Overseas visitors who have similar unexpected problems get the same care in the UK. I understand that there is some protection against people who go there just to get free treatment, but I do not know the details. I am familiar, however, with the case of a German visitor who had an unanticipated problem here in the NY area.

She was attended to, but she was harassed for payment afterwards, and I had a difficult time persuading the hospital to accept her German insurance coverage as payment.

From: Brian A. Jones, Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York.

It's time for us to get off our knees

From: Sue Powell, Bakersfield Drive, Kellington, Goole.

IF the Tories had a soul they'd sell it! Behind every so-called middle class door someone there is struggling to put food on the table and make ends meet. And parents of our generation, having struggled to make things better, now find themselves rifling nest eggs to help their children.

But they're not middle class. There's no such thing. If we work to survive we're working class.

Twenty-odd years ago, I asked a dear trade union friend what it would take to get workers and unworking alike back on the streets, under the banners. He replied sadly, "when the crumbs we've been given are stolen back, and all that's left is the food on the table and the roof over our heads!" Thank God he's not here to know how prophetic he was.

The plight of the young, old, sick, children, and poor alike couldn't have been worse if King John himself had sent his thugs to break down our door. But this time there's no Robin Hood to steal it back. The Labour Party's merry men have turned on their heels and high-tailed it.

It's left to us to do what the working class have for centuries had to do – fight for their own survival. Time to finally stop doffing our caps and get off our knees, girls and boys.

What of civil disobedience? I found an old badge the other day. Although I thought I knew what the words on it meant, I've only just realised how important they are – "Protest to Survive". Have I the right in our democracy to speak like such a rabble-rouser? Well let's watch this space.

From: Phil Hanson, Beechmount Close, Baildon, Shipley.

JUST exactly where has the public sector been during this recession? When the impact of the downturn was felt, manufacturing and other sectors had to make very tough decisions in the real world.

Employee numbers were slashed and companies closed. But there was another side to what happened, there were managements and employees who shared the pain and risk. Pay was reduced, hours worked reduced and extra holidays, unpaid taken. In short there were many innovative approaches taken and those companies and employees are now seeing things pick up.

Why can't the public sector stop moaning and start thinking of ways to keep working, perhaps on reduced pay and conditions for the next couple of years or whatever it takes, rather than printing placards, marching and chanting meaningless chants when the rest of us have had to think our way through the crisis.

The facts are simple, there are too many "seat warmers" in the public sector, certainly more than we can sustain. The police have excess administration, councils have diversity officers and every minority going has a department, this situation is ridiculous.

Alan Johnson has to stop moaning as his party created an excess of public sector jobs which the rest of us have to prop up. These public sector jobs have to be paid for and Labour should have made these kinds of cuts before running away. Once again the Conservative Party has to sort out the mess, a mess that is hidden behind a banking crisis but was there waiting to happen sooner rather than later.

High toll of the turbines

From: M Woodhead, Harehills Avenue, Leeds.

I RE PLY to the letters from Andrew Suggit and David Holland (Yorkshire Post, October 13) regarding wind power.

Basically, there is little or nothing today in favour of wind power. Turbines are noisy, dangerous, intrusive and notably inefficient. Dangerous principally due to their slicing up of thousands of bats and birds – even if sited offshore.

Inefficiency lies in the fact that at any one time only around one third function at full capacity due to variable wind speeds. So, around two thirds have to be constantly backed up by conventional coal-fired power stations.

Intrusive? Well, they are a blot on our landscape – some over twice the height of Nelson's column.

Surely, people who regard turbines as "beautiful", for example Jonathan Porritt, have a strange idea of aesthetics?

Opponents of wind-farms include Ann Widdecombe, Noel Edmonds, Jeremy

Clarkson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, myself and Dr David Bellamy, a man who has a notable concern for the British countryside.

Andrew Suggitt's point about road upkeep and maintenance is surely not part of the "equation" here.

Road subsidies are a separate issue. It is relevant to state that turbines themselves are heavily subsidised.

That's why landowners agree to have them erected on their land. The agreement pays them for this privilege.

The public decides what our Government does

From: G Cooper, Mill Street, Barlow, Dronfield, Derbyshire.

LIKE most people, I do not understand the nature of the present financial crisis. Whenever I ask to whom we owe money I am offered a cipher. It is the banks, the IMF, bond traders and "Men in Grey Suits".

The public are to be given power to set up schools, faith, free or otherwise. It is obvious that if education comes from differing providers then the education provided will differ. Some schools will be better than others. At the extremes, we currently have the local failing comprehensive and the public schools. Parents who are "aware" and well-to-do will send their children to the better schools. This is not merely unfair; it is grossly incompetent since it supposes that intellect is inherited with wealth. Why are we pursuing this unfair and manifestly divisive policy, which will deny a good education to the intelligent poor?

It is proposed to give GPs power over budgets. In 70 years, I have attended a fair number of medical appointments. On no occasion has the GP been on time. This is because the GP is busy doing what he is good at (treating patients) and/or because he is not good at administration. Given this, is it not likely that the treatment of patients will become a lottery, and that GPs will "farm out" their administration to private firms? How will this save money?

During the American Great Depression, the New Deal was introduced. Money was spent on great public works. Our present crisis is said to be the most serious since that following the Second World War which means by definition that this latter crisis was the more serious. Following the war men of goodwill (like Nye Bevan) spent money on setting up the welfare state and on the great nationalised industries. What historical evidence does the coalition have that their present policy, which runs contrary to the above, will work?

Finally, it is likely that personnel in the police force and in the

army will be reduced, and we live in an age of mobile phones and the internet. Has the coalition considered that by draconian measures they may remind us of something that the French have never forgotten, which is that it is not "the" government, it is our government; it is not for them to tell us what they believe to be necessary, it is for us to tell them.

Long distance universities

From: Don Burslam, Elm Road, Dewsbury Moor, Dewsbury.

FURTHER to the letter from Mr Birch (Yorkshire Post, October 15) advocating great flexibility in university studies, I would like to expand on that. The Open University pioneered studies at degree level by long-distance learning with only two weeks' residential attendance at summer schools. The degrees awarded by this institution are now regarded by academe as at least comparable (if not superior) to conventional qualifications.

Desirable through full-time attendance on the campus may seem to some, the experience is clearly not essential to obtaining worthwhile degrees.

As the whole process is now to be even more costly to the student (or the parents) perhaps greater exploitation of the long distance learning route is to be considered.

Time for simplicity

From: Roger M Dobson, Ash Street, Cross Hills.

WE are fast approaching the date on the calendar when we put our clocks back to Greenwich Mean Time which is the time that the rest of the world knows us by. The question I ask is – do we need British Summer Time any more? Surely our technology is such that we do not need extra daylight any more?

The numbers of people who sleep in or miss appointments are innumerable due to our altering of the clocks forwards and back causing chaos in many scenes of life.

Therefore I implore the Government to get rid of British Summer Time for ever, returning to permanent Greenwich Mean Time.

Store blight

From: Jeremy Kilner, Choppards Mill, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.

I DO wish that people like Tesco would stop saying that they will create 350 jobs, or whatever, when they build a new store. Because their sales per employee are higher than most small shops, they will destroy far more jobs than they create.

Brinkmanship

From: Ron Carbutt, Cawthorne, Barnsley.

DID I hear George Osborne correctly when he made his statement to the House of Commons and said: "Last year we were on the brink of financial disaster, this year we will take a step forward"?