Since his election as MP for Grantham, Nick Boles must have alienated thousands of pensioners in the constituency by proposing to “take money off people who don’t need it” and also upset millions of voters nationwide by suggesting that hundreds of thousands of acres of green fields should be built upon.
However, his remarks about the refusal of local health commissioners to send local patients to the recently opened private dialysis service in Barrowby Road, do make some sense.
I fail to see what part of the health commissioners’ remit includes subjecting sensitive patients to unnecessary, stressful and expensive travelling when an excellent local service is available.
It is surely unacceptable to use patients as political footballs to try to score points based upon a commissioner’s personal preference or opinion.
If they scorn the use of private services, perhaps they should remember that the NHS, like all public services, is funded by the taxes levied upon successful private businesses – and they should also remember that their patients’ needs should come before their own politics.
Brian Bruce
Bourne Road, Colsterworth