I was dismayed to read your story about the cancer beds at North Cambs Hospital, in Wisbech. Like many locally I want to see more services at North Cambs.

I was also dismayed to see the difficulty both yourself and Mr Barclay had in getting answers, dismayed but not surprised.

At both the 2010 and the last election the Tories remained silent about their plans to break up the NHS, knowing full well that most people would reject them.

Labour is still in denial about the consistent Blairite embrace of the market which provided the platform for the 2012 Health & Social Care Act.

What do we have now:

• NHS trusts (such as Cambridge & Peterborough) struggling with deficits triggered by the private finance initiative (PFI) and reductions in NHS funding,

• A health secretary with no legal duty to provide a national health service throughout England, and

• Local clinical commissioning groups with no duty to provide, only to contract and tender in the marketplace.

NHS trusts have been prospectively abolished so that all hospitals will become foundation trusts, structurally designed to be 51 per cent NHS and 49 per cent non-NHS.

I had hoped, following the General Election, the cross party National Health Service Bill, tabled in parliament on March 11, could be taken forward. That now seems very unlikely.

In short, the bill would have reinstated the National Health Service in England which more than 80 per cent of the population support.

It is up to us, the majority, to say to the politicians – bring back our NHS - and make them listen.

SUE DOCKETT

Retired UNISON member and former NHS employee

Quaker Lane

Wisbech