I AM fed up with being told that Kidderminster Hospital as it was would have been the best thing for all of us.

What I want is a national health service that delivers the best results for me and my family.

I want the best consultants, the best equipment and the best medical care available.

If I have a medical problem, I do not want anything which is second rate or which could reasonably have been done better.

A century ago people died young. Medical improvements have extended the length and quality of life for most people, but this must be a continuous process.

Certain healthcare groups, however dedicated to their patients, have not always welcomed the changes necessary to gain these improvements.

Just think back to the initial reactions to the building of the NHS in the first place, the move to "group" GP practices and the closing of "cottage" hospitals.

Medical strategists analysed the provision of healthcare in Worcestershire and decided to concentrate acute treatment at centres of excellence.

Quite reasonably, this was challenged by local campaigners and our MP, commissioning an independent review of health provision.

The resulting report endorsed most of the original proposals. So why is the hospital still such an issue in the Wyre Forest area?

Could it be that we are the victims of an alliance between certain vested interest groups at Kidderminster Hospital and an excellent local paper looking to champion a "popular" campaign, all exploited by opportunist local councillors?

The result is an environment where people are scared to challenge this "luddite" mentality.

Please help us to get to the point where all the interested parties work positively to ensure we get the best services for all, for a new millennium.

PETER WILLIAMS

Bewdley

Full address supplied