Letters

Published: 14/02/2002, Volume II2, No. 5792 Page 20

Martin Rathfelder states that the 'private health sector in the UK is parasitical', and questions its safety, effectiveness and commitment in frankly insulting terms.

Having worked for many years in a large corporate provider of long and short-term care for elderly people, I can say that our continued success is based on our reputation, which relies on a high commitment to training and providing the highest standards of care.

As an industry, we are regulated very closely - vastly more so than any NHS establishment.

Nor do we need to lure away staff. They choose to leave the NHS and enjoy the facilities, environment and opportunities that the private sector can offer.

One wonders if Mr Rathfelder's socialist views of the private sector would stand the test if his mother needed longterm care and had the choice of either a hospital ward or a private sector care home.

Suzanne Roberts Group commercial manager Four Seasons Health Care Wilmslow Cheshire