Letters: National Health Service deserves proper funding

It was great to be back excepting that my 13-year-old son suffered a gruesome injury to his knee while skiing at Hillend. I had wanted to show him a favourite childhood haunt of mine.

An ambulance was called and he was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The wait at A&E seemed long but acceptable given the nature of such departments. When we were attended it was with great courtesy and I was grateful to feel included in the decision making process.

My son was admitted and we were wheeled by a cheery porter to a private room on a ward. As we made our way through the corridors I was struck by the good humour and taste in which the hospital had been decorated. In the ward we were met by professional but very human staff who saw to it that I got a sandwich and a cup of tea - a detail but it meant a lot.

And the important bit, my son's care...

Excellent on all counts! During the course of our stay we were seen by several doctors all of whom took the utmost care to keep us informed and answered our questions patiently. In short I couldn't fault them.

Indeed I have stayed in hotels where the service would have fallen far short of that offered by the NHS. If you ask people what's really important in their lives they'll quite often reply "good health".

If that really is the case and we accept that to a large degree the public health service represents the collective health of the nation why do you spend so much time criticising a system that on an international scale must be the best in the world?

Let's be grateful for what we've got, accept our responsibilities and fund it properly.

Phil Miller, Euskadi

Night ruined by the police farce

CONGRATULATIONS to our ever vigilant police force for managing to apprehend my two daughters on Saturday night at 12.30am, driving home from a night out with a tin of leftover toffee apples.

A police car followed them from Leith Walk. In Musselburgh the police called for back-up. There were three police cars and eight police officers on the scene.

My daughter's car was stopped and a surly, aggressive policewoman demanded to know why they were driving slowly, completely oblivious to the fact most people would be driving slowly if a police car was following them. After the breathalyser proved negative. She then demanded to know where they had been.

Visions of Rikki Fulton come to mind. Is it not about time our bloated police force was given the chop?

John Miller, Elcho Place, Port Seton, East Lothian

Political U-turn from Lib Dems

IN the House of Commons Lib Dem MPs recently voted overwhelmingly against an amendment to enfranchise 16 and 17-year-olds for next May's AV referendum.

This is despite the fact that lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 has been Lib Dem policy for years. Such a move comes just a number of days after the party abandoned its policy on tuition fees for students in England and Wales.

Lib Dem claims to represent the interests of young people have been quietly forgotten as they weigh in with support for their new Tory friends.

Alex Orr, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh

Dark days for pubs in Scotland

IN most public environments and situations people first and foremost ought to be accountable for their behaviour and I am tempted to say the same should apply in pubs.

However as we are talking about the consumption of alcohol and in some cases excessive consumption as this can obviously induce irresponsible action then perhaps pubs should to a degree be responsible for the safety of customers and staff.

The death knell of the traditional Scottish pub might not be far away, and which Scottish government would want to be responsible for this?

Angus McGregor, Albion Road. Edinburgh