I WOULD like to say congratulations to the dedicated staff at Ellen Badger Community Hospital and the local GP practice for extending their work loads to look after patients nearer home.

Perhaps praise and gratitude is appropriate as most patients appreciate being cared for in familiar surroundings near their own home and relatives by GPs who know their medical history.

The savings to our NHS Trust should be acknowledged - no expensive costs of ambulances making journeys to and from Warwick, no expensive agency doctors employed, no long and expensive journeys for relatives.

Hopefully, this excellent response to the usual winter crisis should establish the need for Ellen Badger Cottage Hospital to extend its bed capacity. Glen Burley the Chief Executive of South Warwickshire Foundation Health Trust will seek to increase funding for the hospital and the GP practice?

Labour GP contract which relieved them of out of hours responsibilities has resulted in private employment agencies charging NHS to employ out of hours doctors, perhaps those same doctors would be willing to work attached to a GP practice where they could have patient's notes on hand and would use less time and money carrying out local home visits.

If Councillor Jeff Kenner Labour parliamentary candidate for Stratford could if he is successful in his bid for a seat in parliament seek to influence his party to overturn that decision - it is the quality of medical staff and how they are used which makes for good medical care and yet again, the dedicated staff at Ellen Badger Cottage Hospital which has over many years has been sustained by the local community and the local GP practice could be reward by praise for their efforts and consultations about funding for the caring excellent services they wish to provide.

BRIDGE CLARK Lower Brailes