- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 15 June 2000 16.26 BST
But part of the problem is money and training. Yet the government claims it can't put money into bursaries to train social workers, or provide realistic rates of pay because social workers are employed by local authorities. Aren't teachers? And don't nurses work for individual trusts? Yet money has been found for training in these professions.
More fundamental is the attitude of the government and the press towards social workers. You can't understand why we choose to work with people who you regard as "scum". So you think that we must be "scum" too.
Social work is an international profession with an international research base demonstrating its need and efficacy. Just because David Brindle wishes social workers and service users away, won't make us go away.
Sue Talbot, social worker .
So we've done it! The hospital waiting list target has at last been reached, at God knows what human cost, both to the patients and to the staff. Now can we abandon it as a monument to management by headlines?
The government and the NHS management are to be congratulated on their strength of will and their determination to deliver their promises. But what matters is how long we have to wait and how urgent our problem is, and we need a more sophisticated measure than the number of people waiting in front of us.
Perhaps deciding on some new targets should be part of the National Plan for the NHS?
Martin Rathfelder, Socialist Health Association .
Changes in health care delivery should be evidence based, like treatments, or if the evidence does not exist, the subject of pilot schemes.
The key areas are; including independence of the public health function; the need to resolve the long term care of elderly people and; the democratic deficit.
The last named is best tackled by having a fully representative and accountable health authority, preferably elected, with responsibility for all the NHS provision in its area. The necessary cooperative working between the various parts of the service is not best served by a system of autonomous trusts in both hospital and primary care and the perpetuation of the artificial and costly separation between purchaser and provider.
The government must recognise that while there are some bad apples, the majority of health service staff are well motivated and hard working.
Peter Fisher, NHS consultants' association .
Strengthening public health doesn't simply imply reducing the dominance of acute sector medicine since this requires action across public policy, including transport, food, housing, etc, none of which has much to do with the NHS or with medicine.
This strengthens the argument for moving public health functions from the department of health, upgrading the rank of the minister for public health, and tackling health inequalities by combating social exclusion.
Let's get away from the false equation that medicine equals health.
Dr G Rayner, UK Public Health
