THE recent news that Warrington Hospital’s A&E department could be downgraded by health bosses due to budget cuts with £909 million cuts required in Cheshire and Merseyside by 2020 has, quite rightly, caused concern with the people of the town (Warrington Guardian, November 7).

Trust spokesperson Mel Pickup said about the proposals, ‘they would also be subject to public engagement and consultation’.

One can only hope that she wasn’t trained by LiveWire.

She went on to say ‘it is important that we are open about the significant challenges we will face over the next five years in tackling poor health, improving quality and ensuring these services are sustainable in a period of financial constrain’.

Haven’t the Conservatives always stated that privatisation would cut waste and deliver a better health care system?

Here we are six-and-a-half years into the most inept government in British history plus 27 years of brutal privatisation yet NHS money is still being haemorrhaged into the accounts of Tory party donors, friends and relatives of MPs and Lords. Recently a hospital trust which is £135 million in debt gave a £600 million contract to a private company ‘mired in controversy’.

So it seems money can be found for everything except healthcare so patients are suffering along with a frontline staff that has become demoralised and dejected.

A 2013 poll found that 84 per cent of the people wanted the NHS to stay in the public domain.

Cameron said before both elections that it would remain public.

So how has all this happened considering the nation’s love for and admiration of the NHS and its staff ?

Former Tory Minister Michael Portillo provides us with the answer: “They did not believe they could win an election if they told you what they were going to do because people are so wedded to the NHS.”

Considering he was a fervent admirer of Margaret Thatcher I think we can safely assume he knows what he is talking about.

GRAHAM BRINKSMAN Orford