The service we deserve

I read that Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals Trust plans to waste thousands of pounds more in rebranding the name for the unwanted 2010 project.

In February 2007 I sent a petition to the Quad survey containing more than 3,500 signatures of people who were against these "super hospital" plans. At the beginning of this month, after Health Minister Dawn Primorolo's statement about future plans for this hospital, I sent a copy of a survey carried out at Sandwell Hospital over just four days, where 402 people expressed an opinion about these plans and just four were in favour of them.

The trust says that as well as this "super hospital" they intend to build 40 local health centres. They do not say that this means your local GP will no longer be your Local GP but based at a clinic that could be miles from your home.

They say these clinics will provide services such as blood tests and x-rays, while they mean that samples will be taken and sent off for analysis. You would be far better off going to your local hospital where everything can be done on site. But, of course, your local hospital would no longer exist.

I have set up a petition against these hospital changes at petitions.pm.gov.uk

/Anti-towards2010 that unfortunately has so far received very few signatures. It seems more people want Jeremy Clarkson as Prime Minister than are concerned about their own health service provision.

I fear that through the apathy of local people they will get the health service that is foisted upon them rather than the service they need and deserve.

Brian Childs, Brackendale Drive, Walsall.