February 8, 2001 12:21: Re: High Wycombe Hospital

YOU always hear the worst, but I have a good statement I would like to make public.

On November 30 last year, I collapsed and was rushed to Wycombe Hospital with pneumonia/septicaemia and leukaemia.I would like to publicly say how grateful I am to all those who got me back from my attempted visit to the crematorium.

My cancer specialist doctors, Dr Susan Kelly, Jonathan Patterson and Robert Aitchison, are second to none. All the nurses on wards 5b and 5a, and the rest of the hospital, I would like to thank. These people work so hard, I do not know how they do it. Yet they still found time to make me a tea at 4am on a busy night shift.

The new chemotherapy outpatient unit is very civilisedand the two nurses in the unit Carole and Lynda are wonderful.

When is any government going to get it right? Sod the Dome and river bridges, all of which have lost millions if not billions, and put the money where it is needed and to the people who deserve it hospital doctors and nurses.

I would like to see Tony Blair and his Cabinet stay on a ward at night where two nurses are trying to cope with several seriously ill people at once, so that they could see for themselves what the nurses go through or do they all use private health care?

There might be other stories, but I take my hat off to my treatment at High Wycombe Hospital and give them all my sincere thanks.

Chris Rae

Westhorpe Road, Marlow