Dear Editor,

How dentists have the power to demand NHS patients to move to private, against their wishes.

There seems no option but to go private as if you need treatment you have to pay this ridiculous price.

The dentist I attended, I had to wait 16 months for an appointment as I was a NHS patient.

The dentist kept cancelling my appointments and suggested that I could be a private patient and have appointment with the same dentist the next day.

My thoughts were, no, I am standing my ground.

My argument is us British people who have paid National Insurance all our working life should have NHS treatment.

As for the present so-called government, the Health Secretary and MPs need to look at the present state of the people of the Westcountry who canniot get NHS treatment at all.

As for dentists, the cost for treatment is getting out of control for the average person if, only if, they can get a dentist.

Come on Labour government, you are not thinking of our communities, Westcountry, or the people of Britain, you are thinking of ridiculous ideas which are costing the British people billions.

Linda Sparks

Williton

Dear Editor,

Re: the report in the West Somerset Free press last week 12th September of the sighting of an ‘exotic Hoopoe at Wootton Courtenay’ by Jackie and James Macbeth ‘not seen on Exmoor before’.

Sorry, but if the Free Press could speak to their very own sports reporter Richard Walsh he perhaps would be reminded of when he was Headteacher at Cutcombe School and a phone call came in to the school from the family that lived at Pitleigh near Wheddon Cross to say that there was a Hoopoe their garden.

Richard took some of the children up to Pitleigh to see it, my son being one of them who was aged eight years old at the time. I'm not entirely sure of the date but think it was in 1974. 51 years ago!

Yours faithfully,

Gaynor Ellicott (on behalf of my mother, Mrs Sybil Williams)

via email

Dear Editor,

Every year, thousands of families face a terrifying crisis. A sudden diagnosis. A life-threatening condition. A desperate need to be close to their child, but nowhere to stay.

The Sick Children’s Trust provides a calm, comforting space for families to be near their critically ill child during the most traumatic time of their lives. A warm bed, a place to cook, and somewhere to rest – all free of charge, just minutes from the hospital.

It costs The Sick Children’s Trust £40 a night to support one family in one of our ten ‘Homes from Home’, and we rely entirely on donations. The reality is that costs are rising, and demand for our homes is growing. That’s why I’m asking your readers to become a Friend of The Sick Children’s Trust by giving £10 a month. Their monthly gift will keep another family together, when they need it most.

The families we support travel an average of 86 minutes to be by their sick child’s bedside. One such family is that of Laura Makin, whose teenage daughter Keisha needed urgent treatment in Newcastle, over 200 miles from their North Wales home. Our Crawford House ‘Home from Home’ became their lifeline, keeping them close to Keisha during months of uncertainty and heartache.

Laura said: “Crawford House quickly became our sanctuary. Being offered a room there meant I could stay close to Keisha while she faced months of intensive treatment. Spending Christmas and Keisha’s 16th birthday in hospital was tough, but the ‘Home from Home’ gave us comfort and normality in the chaos. I could cook meals, talk to other parents, and just breathe. It even gave Keisha a break from the hospital when she came out of isolation – she loved being there, just being a teenager again.”

Because people chose to give, Keisha didn’t have to face hospital alone. Now your readers can help another parent, another child, get the comfort and closeness they deserve.

Please visit sickchildrenstrust.org/donate to become a Friend today. Your regular support will help us plan for the future and will make sure our ‘Homes from Home’ are there for the next family in crisis – tomorrow, next month, and for years to come.

With heartfelt thanks,

Jane Featherstone

CEO, The Sick Children’s Trust

Dear Editor,

Hospices are experiencing a surge in demand, which will continue to grow. With Government funding only covering around 40 per cent of the care that hospices provide, charitable donations such as Gifts in Wills are absolutely crucial to making sure hospices can provide dedicated, specialist care to everyone who needs it.

Our data shows almost 6,000 hospice nurses are paid for by legacy gifts in Wills per year across the UK.

Worryingly, whilst legacy giving is growing across the charity sector, hospices' share of the legacy market is declining. Despite over a third of the public (37 per cent) saying that they'd like to donate to their local hospice in the future, only 27 per cent have considered gifting to a charity in their Will.

A coalition of 143 British hospices, led by Hospice UK, is uniting to highlight the impact that hospices have on the people they help and their families. We’re encouraging more people to consider leaving a Gift in their Will to their chosen hospice – joining thousands of others whose final wishes are helping to secure the future of Britain's hospices.

Catherine Bosworth,

Director of income generation and grants at Hospice UK