YOUR front page story (Girl with splinter in heel turned away by Walk-in, Star September 9) says it all about our brilliant Health Service. A splinter in the foot shows what a hopeless morass our Health Service is in. It is not working to its own remit or rules and regulations.

The remit is you have to self present. I have gone over this with the experts, as a young motorcyclist died outside St Helens Hospital last year simply because he couldn't walk in and yes it grieved me and thousands of other, the answer doesn't help.

Last year I personally nearly lost two great grandsons. They were on separate occasions of course, taken to the drop-in centre. The first one was told to take him to the on call doctor who said it was a tummy upset, give him medicine, he'll be alright. They took him home. He ended up at 2am in the morning with pneumonia.

The other great grandson, much the same, but his mum and dad had no car and had walk to town from Parr then town to Haydock, back to Parr, but had to knock up a neighbour who had a car as he had stopped breathing twice. The neighbours took them to Whiston where it was found he had Meningitis.

Now we all know that it is nothing to do with doctors, nurses and consultants and I hope and pray that people will start to realise that it is the Hospital Trust who are responsible.

My proof is there for all to see. Just look at the past records. They haven't had enough intensive care beds at Whiston for the best part of 10 years that I know about. People have died in the back of ambulances travelling to beds in another hospitals. Some people just manage to get in the bed and die. I know I lost a friend at Halton, he was there 12 hours.

Where else in the country has a town of nearly 200,000 people that has not got its own hospital besides St Helens?

STAN Roberts, Wharmby Road, Haydock.