FURTHER to my recent letter expressing concern at the proposal to close the accident and emergency department at Fairfield General Hospital ('Bleak future if Fairfield loses A&E department' Letters, January 12), I have since read that there is a proposal to close the accident and emergency department at Rochdale also.

If this is true, I think the originators of these proposals should be identified and asked to publicly justify their proposals, bearing in mind that we have two motorways - one of which, the M62, is one of the busiest in the country - traversing both metropolitan boroughs.

Furthermore, I would like to know if these people live in this area, how old they are, whether they are single or married with children, what salary level they are on, and whether they have private medical insurance. All these questions may seem impertinent but have serious implications as I cannot believe that anyone living in this area with a family would agree to having the local A&E department closed.

Who would agree to ambulances, carrying seriously ill or injured passengers, having to travel much further to another hospital, in another town, on roads that are becoming increasingly congested, with the attendant risks of higher stress levels to both passengers and crew?

The prime minister and government consistently trumpet about the amount of money and resources going into the health service. If that is so, why are we to lose what little we have? Surely we should be seeing improvements in health care provision? Walk-In centres and improvements to GP surgeries are no substitute for properly resourced A&E departments, with all the back-up services only a major hospital can supply. For those who argue that it is necessary to concentrate specialist expertise at centres of excellence: we already have them for cancer care, neurosurgery, specialist paediatrics, cardiac surgery, renal surgery and so on - they are all within the region and accessible to everyone.

Instead of causing anger and anxiety, those responsible for these proposals should ensure that the long-promised road through from Heap Bridge should be built, to ensure the future of the hospital, and the A&E department should have its facilities enhanced. Anything else should be sent to the incinerator.

MICHAEL WYATT

Retired senior nurse manager