The government's track record doesn't provide much hope it will base NHS decisions on 'evidence'

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The NHS is facing staff shortages which could be set to become worse after Brexit (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Is there no end to the stream of disingenuous platitudes coming from an ideology-led Tory government? Faced with catastrophic staff shortages in the NHS and care services, now and post-Brexit, we get statements like: “After we leave the EU, we will have in place an immigration system which works in the best interests of the whole of the UK. This system will be based on evidence.”

This reliance on evidence and working for the best interests of the UK seems to be at odds with the government’s approach to Brexit, where all economic evidence is ignored and the likes of Michael Gove seem to have had enough of experts.

G Forward
Stirling

A smart move on benefits assessments

Good news that the department for work and pensions is looking to bring benefits assessments in house. With the vast majority of appeals being successful it is a waste of taxpayers’ money to have it in private hands.

Most do not need reassessments – if you have a long-term progressive condition, you are not likely to get better.

Gary Martin
London E17

International pass the parcel

Returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece, if it were ever to happen, could well set in motion a really amazing game of international “pass the parcel”. If other countries were to follow suit and repatriate the treasured objects they have in their possession that had also been looted (or supposedly removed for safe keeping) from places that they had colonised or subjugated at some time in the past, the game could go on for some time.

Elizabeth Wilkins
Clun

Autoimmune diseases are far from eradicated

I should like to take issue with a statement made in the article by Jenny Eclair, whose writings I always thoroughly enjoy, on Tuesday 5 June (“Melania Trump still hasn’t emerged from the White House so it’s time to ask the big questions”).

In her piece Eclair refers to “...pernicious anaemia, a disease due to a simple vitamin B12 deficiency that is easily treated and has almost been eradicated today.”

This is incorrect. Pernicious anaemia is, in fact, an autoimmune disease, “autoimmune metaplastic atrophic gastritis”. This is treated by B12 injections but the underlying autoimmune condition remains. Simple B12 deficiency is treated in the same way, but as there is no underlying autoimmune disease: an improved diet or change in lifestyle can avoid recurrence.

It is wrong therefore to say it has been eradicated: in fact, autoimmune conditions, including pernicious anaemia, vitiligo, multiple sclerosis, Hashimoto’s disease, Graves’ disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, plus many more, are a major cause of ill health in the world today. Some patients suffer from two or more of these conditions. The predisposition to autoimmune is inherited, though a trigger such as a viral disease or major stress is the immediate cause.

There is, at present, no known cure for autoimmune disease, and generally treatment is either aimed at the symptoms or at suppressing the immune system with drugs, rather than correcting the underlying condition.

How many millions of grateful sufferers there would be if research yielded a cure for the autoimmune response instead of more drugs to mask the symptoms!

Marie Cadavieco
King’s Lynn

A clear look at Middle Eastern conflict

Thank heavens for Patrick Cockburn: he at least, together with Robert Fisk, keeps us halfway honest in our understanding of the complexities of the Middle East.

Many months ago, when the Russians were in the process of driving rebel forces – many of whom were undoubtedly committed to Isis – out of eastern Aleppo our papers were full of articles condemning Russian brutality and indifference to the fate of the hundreds of civilians who were caught up in the barrage.

I enquired of my Iraqi wife what she thought these papers would say when coalition forces attempted to liberate Mosul and Raqqa in what would be remarkably similar circumstances. The point being that once armed militias take over a city, integrating with the local population and often using it as a human shield, driving them out is impossible without massive loss of life and devastation of the infrastructure.

When it happened we were led to believe that the US had such detailed intelligence and such sophisticated weaponry that civilians were unharmed. And yet we believed this to be utterly impossible and, as we now know, civilians were being killed in their hundreds.

The fact is that war is brutal; it is ugly and unpredictable; it is one’s worst nightmare turned into reality. That is why armed conflict should only ever be considered as a last resort when every other possible resolution has failed.

That is why Tony Blair was so wrong to join George Bush in his Iraqi adventure, and why David Cameron was equally culpable in joining Nicolas Sarcozy in his foray into Libya. The long term damage caused by these ill-advised exploits is incalculable.

Robert Curtis
Birmingham

John Julius Norwich’s musical knowledge

I was disappointed to see that your obituary on John Julius Norwich made no mention of his appearances on the BBC TV quiz Face the Music, chaired by Joseph Cooper, which brought him to a new and wider audience.

His answers to the often obscure questions showed the breadth and depth of his musical and historical knowledge and were always entertaining and informative without being patronising.

Gordon Whitehead
Scalby

A reminder to consider disability

I see PwC intend to “promote diversity and inclusion in all forms, including gender, ethnicity and social mobility” (Independent). Will they include those with disabilities? Is that a step too far, or did they not even think of the possibility?

Liz Callister
Sheffield