5 FEBRUARY 2005, Page 19

A doctor gripes

From Allan Buckley Sir: Theodore Dalrymple (‘A doctor’s farewell’, 22 January) complains that the NHS would not pay for the retirement lunch of his consultant wife.

Could I suggest that, in common with less elevated staff, she might have paid for her own sandwiches? Even better, she could have followed the example of my own wife, who recently retired from a post managing local authority mental health services: she paid for sandwiches to be prepared and served by a small business which is run by people with mental health problems, to assist them in living in the community and avoiding unnecessary admissions to psychiatric hospital.

Allan Buckley

Penrith, Cumbria