I HAVE recently been discharged from the Royal Bolton Hospital, and feel obliged to reveal my findings.

I have found that there is a considerable improvement since I was last there in April/May 2000. The place is kept cleaner, in particular the toilets. My family had no reason to complain this time, unlike the last time.

I also found the food is better. I was able to eat most of it this time. There are apparently a lot more nurses around and, as always, working very hard and conscientious to make people feel better.

They certainly deserve every penny they get.

I found that there were more doctors around, too, and my sincere thanks to them all, by no means least to the surgeon who performed my complicated operation, Mr Michie.

The biggest improvement I found was the care and attention for patients. The young man in the next bed to me needed round the clock attention and that was exactly what he got. Not even for one minute was he left unattended night or day. I could only describe it as the true meaning of 24:7 or TLC at its very best.

National newspapers tell us that Government money to the NHS has missed its target and that it has not filtered through to patient care. Well, I firmly believe that the proof of the pudding is in the eating of it.

A Devlin

Glynne Street

Farnworth

Bolton