All these responses augured well for the forthcoming NHS Cambridgeshire consultation and the public's input to that exercise.

It is my personal view that the predecessors of the current Primary Care Trust, NHS Cambridgeshire, were bent on the destruction of this Doddington Hospital and sale of the land in order to boost their coffers. The views of the local populace were irrelevant.

In a change of emphasis if not speed, NHS Cambridgeshire seem to be putting forward positive proposals with regard to the hospital and its future. Those proposals may not be everything that everybody wants, but they are comprised of forward movement.

So, it was with a spirit of optimism that I attended two of the venues for the consultation.

I went to the evening sessions in March on May 20 and Doddington on May 21. The March session comprised the NHS Cambridgeshire team of four and just nine members of the public, including a doctor. The following evening, the Doddington session was better represented with four NHS Cambridgeshire staff and 20 members of the public.

My understanding is that one of the earlier sessions had just one member of the public in attendance.

The reason given by some for the derisory attendance of the public is to the effect that "they are fed up with consultation after consultation".

That may be so, but I urge people to take a lesson from the irrepressible Reg Wenn – if he had become "fed up" and given up, the Doddington site would be a building project by now.

Look folks, if you really care about Doddington Hospital and its presence as a local facility for all ages, from the cradle to the grave, you must get away from the television for a couple of hours and make your views known.

If you don't get what you want out of this facility, it will be no use whatsoever crying in your tea after the event.

Now is the time to get together with these people from NHS Cambridgeshire and have your say – they seem to be trying to do something, so the least we can do is give them the benefit of the doubt and help them to promote Doddington Hospital to be as close to what we want as is practicable.

As Delia Smith said of Norwich FC supporters, "Let's be having you!"

TERRY SCHOOLING
Chatteris