What? And end his days in one of our infected hospitals? No thank you!

I mentioned this to an acquaintance, who told me that one of our surgeries here in New Mills is also without a doctor this week.

Fortunately, and no thanks to the system, my father recovered within 24 hours, but the outcome could have been very different.

My mother died in 2001,partly because she was taken ill on a Sunday and a large Midland hospital only had one doctor available.

I spent Tuesday wondering if my Dad would also fall victim to an apparent shortage of doctors.

Now we also hear that life-prolonging drugs are again to be denied to cancer patients because of the costs.

How is it that this country can spend billions on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the benefits of which are still not clear to many people, yet not afford rather basic health care at home?

Margaret Bryant

Hall Street

New Mills

Copy also to the Prime Minister by post.