THE Good Hospital Guide, published in the Sunday Times on January 14 and 21, has come too late to confirm our belief in the quality of services provided by Kidderminster Hospital before its drastic downgrading.

However, it does confirm the worth and high national standing of the charter mark that was awarded to the Kidderminster Health Care NHS Trust for all its services.

The Sunday Times defines this as an award given for "general excellence across a trust". How many other trusts or hospitals have obtained this accolade for all their services?

The leading article in the same newspaper states that: "Hospitals that chronically underperform can no longer hide from scrutiny," and that "While they may not be closed down, they may be taken over by more efficient rivals".

Also, the leader writer describes Mr Milburn as: "putting himself at the head of the patients' revolt" and thus accepting the legitimacy of the people's protest.

This crystallises our local problem accurately.

Elsewhere Mr Milburn is seen as the potential saviour of the NHS and that any changes to health services must lead to an improvement.

How different it is for the people of Wyre Forest, South Shropshire and parts of South Staffordshire who have lost their award-winning, acute general hospital in favour of an unproven, untried bureaucrats' dream for local services and dangerously less accessible services for bread and butter emergencies.

The gross inequity is confirmed by the retention of the tiny acute general hospital in Hexham (125 beds) and A&E departments in the downgraded hospitals at Louth and Grantham.

Who interpreted the Royal College guidelines in those counties?

RT TAYLOR

Chairman of Kidderminster Hospital Campaign and

Health Concern,

Church Walk, Kidderminster