I AM intrigued by the suggestion put forward by R Swindells (Letters, July 29) that the establishment of a mini A & E clinic is all part of a Machiavellian plot to fiddle the performance statistics.

Devious, but clever, if true. Sadly, the real explanation appears to be simpler.

The Royal Bolton has the second busiest A & E department in Greater Manchester.

Everybody I know who has ever worked in A & E anywhere tells me that a proportion of the patients who end up in A & E by default really do not need to be there. It seems sensible, therefore, to use an initial triage process to determine which potential A & E "customers" can be effectively and adequately treated without calling on the full resources of a modern A & E clinic.

It is simply a matter of cost-effectiveness. What effect such decisions have on the statistics can be left to the statisticians.

R Swindells has obviously read Machiavelli. He will also probably be aware of the logical device known as Ockham's Razor, which instructs us that the simplest explanation which fits all the known facts is the one we should accept.

By that standard, the RBH are doing the right thing.

Peter Johnston, Kendal Road, Bolton