Defend our NHS York are concerned about York Hospital Trust’s plans to form a new company at the hospital to replace the Estates and Facilities department and so save money on maintenance services (Calls for answers over future of hospital worker jobs, October 19). We have several questions for the Trust, questions which are the concern of the public at large who are the owners of the Trust and all its facilities.

First, why does a public sector institution need to secure limited liability as no private money is at risk in a publicly owned facility?

Is limited liability in fact merely a means of protecting potential purchasers of the facility if it is sold on the open market?

When would the public (the owners of the facility) be asked for permission for their property to be sold?

What protection would there be for Service Levels and Staff terms and conditions of work should an NHS facility be sold on the open market, if the public were to agree to such a sale?

What evidence is there that the new arrangements would save money, without reducing levels of service or staff terms and conditions of work.

Further, if Estates and Facilities are sold into the private sector, how can levels of service and terms and conditions of work be maintained alongside providing profits for the new owners? In the end, profit is what private business is all about. The health and well- being of the public is what the NHS is all about.

Anne Leonard, Defend our NHS York, Fairway, York