I NOTE with alarm reports on the proposed closure of the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (commonly known as Pendlebury).

My grandson has been both an in-patient and outpatient since the age of 10 months -- he is now nearly 17.

He suffers from a rare condition affecting his liver and heart and needs constant medication and a low-fat, low cholesterol diet. He attends the Willink Laboratory Metabolic Unit which caters for children from many parts of the North of England.

It is a quite new, purpose-built unit, and all the staff from the consultant to the health care assistants are efficient, friendly and involve all the family in the care of their child.

Any concerns, major or minor, are treated seriously and there is an ongoing bantering between the consultant (who is an ardent supporter of Newcastle) and my grandson (who supports Liverpool).

The latest scores usually precede any formal consultation and this helps to reassure my grandson who naturally dislikes blood tests of which there are many, his diet, which is restrictive, and his medication, which until recently was nauseating to take.

The emphasis at the moment is on consultation -- either with patients, tenants or other user groups. Community involvement is one of the cornerstones of this Government. Even the previous government introduced the Patients' Charter.

To date, my daughter, who has been attending Pendlebury with her son for the last 16 years, has never been asked for her views about the proposed closure. I wonder how many parents have. I am sure there are many who, like our family,think that the hospital is a centre of excellence not just for metabolic disorders but for children with kidney and heart disorders, neurological problems and cancer and should remain open on its merits alone.

Margaret E. Clare

Silchester Way

Bolton