DEAR EDITOR - I have for some time been a patient of Mr Das and regularly attend his eye clinic at the Princess of Wales Community Hospital in Bromsgrove.

He diagnosed my serious eye condition and made it possible for me to attend the St Paul's eye unit at Liverpool University hospital, where I received excellent and almost immediate attention.

I have no doubt that my condition could have been dealt with just as efficiently at the Alexandra Hospital, in Redditch, had it got the essential equipment. However, we are told funds are short, so consequently my husband and I still have to drive to Liverpool regularly for my eye checks.

Mr Das must be yet another frustrated man working for the NHS.

If Mr and Mrs Richards, in a recent letter, feel dismay at the thought of equipment not being returned to the Alexandra, imagine how the opthalmic team must be feeling!

Mrs G Mumby,

Broom Park,

Bromsgrove.