SIR: The situation at the new Royal Bolton Hospital is nothing short of being a total disgrace to the town and a personal insult to each and every Boltonian.

Our much beloved and much required Royal Infirmary closed down despite all protests from the public and we have a new Accident and Emergency Unit transferred three miles away to Farnworth which can't cope.

We are then told that the new unit is seriously under-funded and seriously under-staffed. We are also informed that the unit will treat over 2,000 patients from Salford and Wigan.

I notice we weren't told we would have to queue behind folk from Salford and Wigan when they were closing the BRI against our will. They daren't tell us, that's why.

We, the people of Bolton should have complete peace of mind that if we, or a loved one, is in urgent need of medial attention it should be there for each and every one of us.

It is scandalous that we are left in this precarious position of uncertainty.

How dare the Health Authority play Russian roulette with our lives? Shame on you. Get your act together and get it together right now.

To make anxious patients wait up to four hours for emergency treatment is both cruel and demeaning.

The Health Authority can and will find the money so shut up, put up, and for God's sake get on with your job, running our hospital properly.

Graham Baxter

Bromwich Street, Bolton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.