Methods of funding healthcare

Madam, - I have followed with interest the heated debate in your Letters page between Norman Stewart and Dr Gerry Burke et al…

Madam, - I have followed with interest the heated debate in your Letters page between Norman Stewart and Dr Gerry Burke et al. regarding the funding of healthcare in Ireland, and in particular their disagreement regarding the merits of the UK National Health Service.

As a doctor who worked in the NHS for a short period, I came to the conclusion that it is inefficient, unwieldy, and over-bureaucratic, very much like the HSE. I always felt that managers, not patients, were at the centre of the NHS universe.

I am not aware of his background, but I have to say that I find Mr Stewart's argument articulate and not without merit, and his extolling of the German health system should not be disregarded.

As for those who hold up the NHS as a paragon of what a health system should be, I would like to point out one fact. There are currently over 245 private hospitals in Britain. And the number is growing. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the NHS. - Yours, etc,

Dr TURLOUGH O'DONNELL,

Melbourne,

Australia.