At first sight P Allenby's suggestion that only people with real need should be allowed to use the York District Hospital's car park seems attractive (Letters, April 28).

The trouble is with the details. Who is going to decide who has a need, and how will they keep out the others? And what criteria will they use? Will a woman whose husband is a patient and who can leave her small children for only a short time be allowed in? Or a man with arthritis visiting his wife? Where does one draw the line fairly?

Anyhow, all the figures for extra traffic are bogus. If the new car park were to appear magically overnight, the only effect would be that the long queue of cars, belching out exhaust fumes while they wait for a space, would disappear and relatives, already under stress, would not have the extra anxiety of trying to slide a car into an extremely narrow space. The numbers going to the car park will gradually rise over the years, but that is because increasing numbers of people need to use the hospital.

I do not know how the improvement to the car park will be funded, but I would guess that, given the high charges being levied, it will contribute to hospital funds and not be a drain on them.

Ernest Rudd,

South Parade,

York.

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