MR D R Smith continues his personal vendetta against me.

If anyone dares to challenge his policies, his views and his ‘facts’ that person is accused of a persecution complex.

I note that his facts are derived from the media – so of course he thinks that they must be right.

The coalition and Conservative governments have drastically cut the number of administrators, who dramatically increased under Labour, and directed more of the available resources to the front line.

A number of services are being transferred from the hospital to the GP where the service can be more efficiently given and that is in the best interests of the patient.

The NHS budget has risen from £64 billion in 2003-2004 to £113 billion in 2014-2015 and to £16½ billion 2015-2016 and an extra £8 billion has been made available up to 2020.

As for the alleged “privatisation” of the NHS, the Labour, coalition and Conservative governments have all outsourced certain services, around five to six per cent, for reasons of effectiveness and efficiency. Every large organisation or business subcontracts certain services out-of-house, where the out-of-house service is as good or better than in-house, and contributes to effectiveness and efficiency in-house.

If a patient does not receive the service or quality of service he is entitled to then there are many established ways for that patient and those on his behalf to seek redress for the grievance.

Alec Samuels, West End