THE ordeal endured by farmer Craig Walsh may or may not be the tip of a health iceberg, but whatever the circumstances, the implications are nevertheless rather worrying.

Mr Walsh slipped and fell on his spine earlier this month. Despite being rushed to hospital, he was told he had suffered soft tissue damage and sent home. However, the pain became worse, and he found himself back at accident and emergency where he was told he had a urine infection. It was only after he received a private consultation at Worcester's South Bank hospital that it emerged Mr Walsh had broken his back.

So. It's another hospital blunder which is once again explained away by the predictably bland textbook response from an NHS spokesman. This really isn't good enough.

Only a few weeks ago, this newspaper reported that hospitals across Worcestershire were seeking to shed more than 700 frontline jobs. There were assurances that health provision would not be compromised. But even the least cynical of people could be forgiven for linking cuts with reduced levels of service. Everyone knows that when staff levels are reduced, then mistakes will inevitably occur - whether it is the public or private sector, increased pressures on staff always widen margins of error.

These factors may or may not lie behind the disturbing case of Mr Walsh's wrong diagnoses, but it is difficult to rule out a link - at least in the minds of the public. Health chiefs must learn from this lesson.