Letter: Hospital should be regarded as a beacon for others to copy
Yet again we have people wanting to have a go at the NHS by "rubbishing" our hospital in Shrewsbury.
I refer to the article by Tom Morton on January 7 where Mrs Spinks describes at length how appalled she is at her husband's treatment at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
She states that her husband is in such poor health that she has had to give up her job in order to look after him.
It's easy to complain. We can find fault in anything if we really want, but let's be objective in our criticism. When Mrs Spinks complains that rubbish was still around four days after Christmas Day, does she mean that there was rotting food left at the foot of her husband's bed or merely some discarded Christmas wrapping paper on a chair? The article is long on words but short on detail.
It may not surprise your readers to learn that my experience with the RSH is quite the contrary to that of Mr and Mrs Spinks. Has it been perfect? No, but it has been outstanding. During the few occasions that I have been admitted to the RSH I can say that the treatment I received reflects perfectly the report written by the World Health Organisation in 2012 whereby it commends the NHS as a flagship that all countries should try to emulate.
My job means I travel extensively and I have been to countries where, in many instances the standard of hospitals is so appalling you get sick at your peril.
Rather than invite people in Shropshire to contact her with complaints about the RSH, in my opinion a more constructive crusade would be to invite people from these countries for comments, in order to bring their hospitals up to the standard of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
S Poucher, Shrewsbury
