IT DOES not surprise me that the crisis within Warrington NHS Trust Hospital has been kept under wraps for so long. I was told about it weeks ago by a friend who is a hospital worker.

We have been asked to swallow vast amounts of Conservative propaganda, for example 'We have invested more money in real terms in the NHS.' Not enough to keep pace with the advances in medical technology; the increase in population in Warrington Hospital's catchment area; the massive increase in the cost of employing so many managers or the cost of making so many staff redundant, even if the latter does come out of a different pot. Lastly the cost of paying the Tory puppets on the trust board must be considerable.

What does Rosemary Knights mean when she says: "Only together can we cope with the demands of patients? Does she mean that only patients of fund holding GPs will be considered for treatment? Does she mean refusing the treat patients over 75 years of age?" Does she mean stopping GP referrals? Or does she mean closing the A&E department after 5pm, or totally? All these measures have been tried elsewhere and have only caused misery for patients and their families.

Surely what is required is adequate funding to ensure that there are sufficient beds and medical staff so that anyone who needs medical treatment, whether through GP referral or A&E, can receive that treatment without having their lives put at risk.

I challenge Rosemary Knights to disclose to the people of Warrington the number of managers and executives employed by the trust and what they each cost. Don't hold your breath. IAN RICE, Stocks Lane, Penketh.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.