The time for declaratory statements is past. Patients who care passionately about the NHS, and staff who want to give the best possible service, need certainty about the future of the health service (The battle is far from over, 25 October). Any politician who plays party political games with the NHS would be open to justified public criticism. So it is now imperative that members of the House of Lords get on with their job of subjecting this bill to detailed, rigorous scrutiny.
In order to safeguard the NHS, free at the point of need and accessible to all, Liberal Democrat peers are putting forward amendments which require the secretary of state to remain responsible for health services being provided across England. In coming weeks we will seek to ensure that the NHS continues to develop cutting-edge research and that any income from private patients is used solely for the benefit of NHS patients. We will carry on scrutinising this bill so that the NHS can continue to deliver world-class care for patients.
Shirley Williams
Jonathan Marks QC
Paddy Ashdown
Liz Barker
Phil Willis
Floella Benjamin
Judith Jolly
John Shipley
John Alderdice
Navnit Dholakia
Monroe Palmer
Paul Strasburger
Diana Maddock
Chris Rennard
John Sharkey
Jenny Randerson
Ros Scott
Tim Clement-Jones
Dick Newby
Mike German
David Steel
Kishwer Falkner
Bill Bradshaw
Roger Roberts
Brian Cotter
Bill Rodgers
Anthony Lester
Sal Brinton
Paul Tyler
Mike Storey
Joan Walmsley
Trevor Smith
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• Paul Tyler (Response, 21 October) fills me with dismay. As someone who contacted a member of the Lords about the NHS bill through 38 Degrees, I resent being dismissed as part of a "one click rent-a-mob". Tyler underestimates the sense of impotence and frustration many feel in the face of radical changes to the NHS which were not part of the manifesto of either coalition party. It is just not true that we have failed "to engage with any of the detail of this issue" or that we are "ill-informed", and I find the suggestion patronising. 38 Degrees presented just one way for people to take part in political decision-making. To find a member of the Lords denigrating the campaign for "filling up someone's inbox with a lot of half-constructed half-truths" is worrying. He refuses to acknowledge the strength of feeling contained in those full inboxes.
Susan Harris
Thornton-le-Dale, North Yorkshire
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• Your damning report on the health bill (NHS reform risks 'wrecking patient-GP relationship', 20 October) concludes: "A DoH spokesman insisted there was no turning back from the 2013 deadline." Of course not. Andrew Lansley has promised his corporate sponsors he'll deliver, whatever happens. I hope you can uncover the sort of neocon machinations which did for Fox that have to be driving Lansley and Gove – and before they completely demolish our welfare system.
John Airs
Liverpool
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