AN interesting point has occurred on the radio – it's the last chance to catch WWII Nazis. This reminds me of the attack on the NHS.

The connection?

There are few adults alive now who experienced the world suffering the Nazi phenomenon and there are few adults who can remember living in fear of ill-health/child-birth (before the NHS's free healthcare). Does that explain why we've not been up in arms at this ConDem attack on our NHS – we have not lived that fear of no free healthcare.

Now people are becoming aware that they've not truly had input into the decisions affecting their NHS.

People are not disinterested, no, it's as they say, "I was not asked" – not asked if they wanted the Secretary of State's (SoS) 'Duty To Provide' a comprehensive health service to be removed , not asked if they wanted the NHS to be privatised, not asked if they wanted the NHS to be fragmented, and not asked if they wanted the NHS to be fully opened to competition law and all that brings with it, ie: privatisation and a special tier of health, careless of those who cannot afford to pay.

Neither the Tory manifesto nor the Lib Dem manifesto told us, the electorate, that they would do this to the NHS. Neither the Tory Party nor the Lib Dem party were given a majority by the electorate.

Legal experts, publicly funded via 38 Degrees, studied the so-called 'Reformed' Health and Social Care (H&SC) Bill & found that it still both enables the elimination of the SoS's 'Duty To Provide' a comprehensive health service and enables the application of competition law. It has not been reformed despite a so-called consultation.

The full-scale application of competition law to the NHS has not been discussed by parliament – you remember the Conservatives told us the NHS is safe with them.

In the Commons debate on the 'reformed' Bill all government amendments were passed and all opposition amendments, including one to maintain a 'Duty To Provide', were defeated. But the Conservative Party have not a mandate for this from the electorate! And neither have the Lib Dems!

So now people are waking up to the machinations of the ConDems. The Conservative Party are trying to deny the validity of the legal experts' understandings, but the MPs can't make fair challenges to the practicing specialists – they are just MPs.

Here in Gloucestershire the PCT's choice of Gloucestershire Care Services' Social Enterprise Trust has been halted by a legal challenge to keep Gloucestershire's healthcare within the NHS.

This legal challenge needs financial support and would be grateful for any amount people could send to: Dr Bernice Boss, Castle Coach House, Castle Pitch, Stroud GL5 2HP, with cheques made out to: "Keep Gloucestershire NHS Public".

– Martin Rudland, High?Street, Cinderford.