I AM sure people are shocked at the frank admission by the Conservative Party that they see no future for the National Health Service.

Oliver Letwin reportedly stated that the NHS "would not exist" within five years of a Tory government being elected.

It is clear that any vote for the Conservatives is a vote to scrap the NHS.

It is now apparent that only the Liberal Democrats are serious about protecting the service and providing a full health service for the whole country.

The Lib Dems have pledged to provide improved resources to the service, by earmarking a proportion of National Insurance as an NHS contribution so that health spending would no longer be subject to short term political whims.

Also, the Liberal Democrats are committed to reintroducing free eye checks and dental treatment, as important tools in the drive to diagnose illnesses early.

The focus needs to be moved to prevention of illness and early treatment, to reduce costs in the long term, and health professionals must be released from the burden of producing endless statistics to fulfil meaningless targets set by central government.

Kate Herbert,

Secretary,

City of York Liberal Democrats,

Stonegate,

York.

Updated: 12:05 Monday, June 14, 2004