THE House of Commons was recalled on Monday for a further debate on the terrifying international crisis.

The Prime Minister's statement has been reported in the press and we were told that the targets have been very carefully selected, mostly out of city areas, and that all are sites of terrorist or military activity.

The Prime Minister emphasised that since Septem-ber 11 evidence of blame has been established, the Taliban given time to respond to the ultimatum and a world coalition to fight terrorism formed.

It is crucial that this is maintained in the face of bin Laden's propaganda which is a chilling attempt to unite Islam behind his fanatical, fundamentalist, inhuman regime.

The subsequent debate stressed the need for fostering the world coalition, including crucially Muslim countries, the avoidance of civilian casualties as far as possible, the desperate need for famine relief before the winter sets in and the vital need for long-term support for Afghanistan.

Letters I have received from constituents have expressed the alarm we all feel at the prospect of military action.

However, the consensus in the House of Commons has been that there is no alternative to this response to the world-wide threat of terrorism.

Appeasement has been tried before, and did not work.

I attended a useful conference on influencing health policy, organised by the NHS Consultants Association and from this body, dedicated to serving patients through the NHS, there is unwavering support for the original ideals of the NHS.

The need for an effective citizens' voice and a united voice from the professions was stressed.

The Govern-ment's discussion document entitled "Involving Patients and the Public in Health Care" has been circulated.

The letter of introduction from Hazel Blears MP, Parliam-entary Under-Secretary of State for Health, contains the following sentence: "The culture within the NHS needs to change so that the views of patients and citizens are not only valued but listened to and acted upon as well".

This is a long-awaited objective but the Government's plans to achieve it by replacing Community Health Councils with Patients' Advocacy and Liaison Groups, Patients' Forums, Independent complaints Advocacy Service, and "Voice", are a nightmare of complexity.

Will citizens understand them? Will the members to be appointed by the new Independent NHS Appointments Commission really be independent? Who appoints the members of this commission? Are these plans just window-dressing or does the Government really intend to achieve the aims in Hazel Blears' sentence?

I intend to ask these questions.