YOUR readers do no need me to tell them that the NHS is in crisis. People needing hip or knee replacements are faced with long delays for relief from their pain and locally we have seen the closure of hospital wards at Peterborough and Doddington. However

YOUR readers do no need me to tell them that the NHS is in crisis.

People needing hip or knee replacements are faced with long delays for relief from their pain and locally we have seen the closure of hospital wards at Peterborough and Doddington.

However, £2,000 can be found to fly a doctor, from Italy to serve as a locum for two weeks.

Your readers may, at this point, think: "Well, being a leading member of UKIP, he would object to a European doctor coming here." But before you dismiss my letter as racist rambling, consider the following.

Tony Blair's government has decided that European doctors coming here do no have to have a language test to ensure they are proficient in English. Doctors from India and Pakistan do have to prove their

language ability.

This is clearly the wrong way round as English is the second (or even the first) language in parts of Asia.

I raise the point because there can be a clear danger to patient health. There was recently a report of a French doctor whose lack of proficiency in English made it difficult for an ambulance crew to follow his instructions with dire consequences to the patient.

When is this country going to regain its sanity?

CLLR LLOYD FORSTER, Secretary United Kingdom, Independence Party, Fenland Branch, Waterlees Road, Wisbech