ON Monday night I turned up at the Elgar Suite of The Abbey Hotel to witness what can only be described as a chaotic shambles.

As you are aware, the 'meeting' had to be abandoned due to health and safety rules, namely the number present exceeded the legal limit for the accommodation.

Could the South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust not foresee the likelihood of such an occurrence or is it so contemptuous of the strength of feeling about the proposed hospital in the area as to assume that only a handful would turn up?

If this is not the case, then why did it not take steps to limit the number attending to the capacity of the venue?

How much confidence can we have in its ability to arrive at a satisfactory solution to the positioning and construction of the new hospital?

A new meeting, hopefully, is to be convened in fulfilment of what was promised. I believe that two or three need to be held to replace the farce of Monday evening due to the large number wishing to attend.

I would like to make some suggestions.

1. Limit those wishing to attend to the capacity of the venue either by ticket or by the simple provision of stewards on the door.

2. In view of the strength of feeling on this subject I believe that a person who is independent of any council, NHS or PCT should be in the chair for any future meetings. This is because there is a large amount of mistrust in the present way the process is being handled.

3. Due to the ever-shortening time available for the consultation process, the period should be extended to ensure that the views of the population might properly be taken into account.

4. Finally, future meetings on this subject should take place at different times of the day to allow the maximum cross-section of the public to be given the chance to attend.

Mick Ames, Bellars Lane, Malvern.