PCT should pay

SIR – For many years at health meetings I have been suggesting that all patients be given a copy of their records on a memory stick or smart card so that in emergency the paramedic or A&E staff can plug it into the USB socket of their computers to check

SIR - For many years at health meetings I have been suggesting that all patients be given a copy of their records on a memory stick or smart card so that in emergency the paramedic or A&E staff can plug it into the USB socket of their computers to check for potential problems, etc.

I have always received in response various spurious 'reasons' why this was impractical.

So it is welcome news that Bridge Cottage surgery in Welwyn is doing just that.

What is not welcome, however, is that they seem to be doing this not for patient benefit but as a money-making exercise by charging £39.50 plus £19.50 annually.

A bit reminiscent of the scandal over premium telephone lines?

This is a service that should apply universally and be funded by the primary care trust (PCT), not creating a two-tier service by patient charges.

Derek Marcus, Birch Grove, Potters Bar.

NHS at its best

SIR - I would like, through your columns, to thank the district nurses who cared for my 95-year-old mother at home prior to her death on June 28. Their professionalism, kindness and patience certainly made her last months more comfortable and gave me, her daughter, peace of mind knowing how reliable and devoted they were in helping me to care for her.

I would also like to thank all the staff who cared for her during a brief stay in the QE2 and, having spent time overnight at my mother's bedside, I witnessed at first hand how demanding their work can be when most of us are tucked up in our beds.

Barbara Spencer,

via email.