Hospital staff real heroes

MUCH of the best work in the health service is often unheralded, so we are delighted today to pay tribute to the heroes who saved little William Clemence.

Staff at Ipswich Hospital are currently under the microscope after the death of Samuel Wright, but in William's case the care that was offered here and in Norfolk cannot be faulted.

He was taken ill suddenly, and staff at Ipswich Hospital soon realised he had a condition they were not equipped to deal with.

Once the decision to transfer him to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital was taken, four-month-old William was given excellent care and despite his serious condition he is now making a good recovery.

The family are full of praise for the staff in Norfolk and we are delighted to pass on their story.

But it is also good to know that staff at our own hospital were quick to identify the problem and to accept that more specialist treatment was needed.

William's story shows exactly how well the NHS can work - how it does work most of the time. It will be a comfort to many people who face the trauma of seeing their babies being rushed to hospital over the next few months.

CONTROVERSIAL proposals to build a huge new freight depot on the outskirts of Stowmarket attracted a huge crowd to a public meeting.

While any attempt to take freight off the roads and on to the rails is to be welcomed, the exact purpose of this depot is unclear.

And claims that it could create 1,500 jobs could be a mixed blessing - the Stowmarket area is not exactly an unemployment blackspot and the creation of so many new jobs will bring huge new pressures to that part of the county.

Freight operators using the port of Felixstowe have often said it is not economic to move freight by rail less than about 150 miles, so the idea of moving trains just 25 miles from Felixstowe to Stowmarket - with a change of engine at Ipswich - does seem rather puzzling.

This proposed depot has provoked a great deal of opposition which must be heard by councillors who will make the final decision - it will take a very brave authority to approve a development with so much opposition and whose benefits for the local area are so unclear.

EVER since its first radio stations started broadcasting in the 1920s, the BBC has been trusted as a fair and impartial organisation by the British public.

The revelation that it cheated in a number of competitions has rocked that trust and caused shockwaves through the organisation - even forcing the suspension of fun competitions on stations like Radio Suffolk.

Lord Reith must be turning in his grave!

It is absolutely right that the top bosses should root out the cancer that has caused this loss of trust - although we should remember that it only affected a tiny, albeit high-profile, part of its total output.

Programme makers must remember that retaining the trust of the audience is absolutely vital. Without that trust the BBC is just another broadcasting organisation grubbing around for an audience.