NEWS of Dr Richard Taylor aspiring to re-enter parliament coincided with my outpatient appointment at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.

Making allowances for any possible rush hour delays, where an onward bus from the bus station is necessitated, meant leaving home to catch the No 3 bus three hours before I was due to see the consultant.

It was also a voting day round here.

Neither the politically active nor NHS personnel seemed aware that direct buses to the other two hospitals from Kidderminster ceased several years ago.

What did become of the promise made in perpetuity on the downgrading of Kidderminster Hospital to run buses direct to the hospitals at Redditch and Worcester?

GILES ANGELL Franchise Street Kidderminster