Involve public in NHS investment

Dear Sir,

There does seem to be a good case for involving the public in the amount of money invested in our NHS and taking its funding out of political controversy.

It used to be said that ours was the best and most cheaply funded NHS globally, something that we were rightly very proud of as a nation.

With advancing technology, lifespans and expectancy there is always more that could be spent on this essential infrastructure.

Retaining as much of it as possible within the public sector makes sense, especially regarding the comments in your editorial in last week's Chronicle.

If the private sector is going to be involved, then there must be clear lines of accountability and redress in terms of both service provision and patient care.

An independent well-resourced body with both elected, lay and professional input, given the task of recommending how much it should receive each year might go some way to achieving my fi rst aim.

Yours faithfully,

(DR) PETER HIRST

Middlewich.