LETTER: Saddened by start of HS2 travesty

The original cost of this project was £50bn, but new figures announced today suggest the final cost will be closer to £100bn, all this to save 20 minutes travel time between London and Birmingham.

Quite frankly, if we have the same people operating this line coupled with the never-ending strikes by the union, we shall be extremely lucky to see trains arrive 20 minutes later than scheduled.

However, this letter is not just about HS2 but the appalling amount of money given to foreign countries for projects that never appear, and the money spent on so-called improvements, which at the end of the day are of little help to the taxpayer.

It is time the public were given the rights to question these decisions and also be given a voice in parliament to make it clear that enough is enough. The NHS is costing billions every year but the people at the helm are never bought to book in the public interest to account for the inefficiencies, which staff have to contend with every day.

Yet while this country has the best of medical facilities, the actual real care for people suffering with Dementia or Alzheimer’s is totally unacceptable and really does highlight where these wasted billions should be going.

It is quite heart-breaking to become involved with someone suffering from these complaints, for which there is no cure or respite, just month after month of watching and listening, listening to a person with a once brilliant mind sinking into a unreal world of so many emotions, in surroundings they no longer recognise.

To find accommodation for these people when family members can no longer cope with the many situations that do arise is almost impossible, unless they can afford private care, and this can cost thousands per month, yes, thousands a month. The obvious answer is for Government to review its wasteful spending and create safe, secure comfortable homes as an integral part of the NHS.

Mr D Bodley

Bilbrook