Hilary Spiers is partly right ('Clarity begins at home', pages 28-30, 5 March). It is certainly a better solution to choose the right words from the beginning than translate from jargon. I am all for a culture that promotes this.

However, we must also recognise that good writing is a skill (journalists are trained, after all), and one which most people do not possess naturally. In these instances, it may well be more effective and less time-consuming to have their words translated by a 'writer'.

Even for those able to write clearly and simply, a conflict arises when their audiences are mixed. This problem is highlighted in board papers, which the authors consider they write for board members, not the public.

Managers are trained to write in business-speak, doctors in medical jargon. Indeed, they need to adopt this language for professional credibility. This is fine when writing to other managers and doctors.

If we want 'professionals' to adopt plain English from the beginning, whether they are writing to their peers or to their patients, we will need to change aspects of their training and professional culture. They will need to know not just how to write plainly, but that it is okay to do so. (What academic paper would be taken seriously if written in plain English?).

Until such time, the best solution is for the NHS to recognise that it does not communicate well enough and make better use of the undoubted skills of the communications professionals it employs.

David Levitt,

Newmarket.