THE recommendations of the long-awaited Darzi report are welcome and I regard them as a first step in restoring sanity to the county's hospital services.

I appreciated a meeting with John Hutton MP, Minister of State, Mr Milburn's second-in-command at the Department of Health.

I told him that we still require the return of emergency services and although he was definite that the present additions are all we will get, he did recognise that there is a countrywide review of acute, emergency hospital services going on at present.

I reminded him that we are seeking fair and consistent provision of emergency services here and across the whole country.

In my meeting with Mr Hutton I also gave details of concerns about the quality of hospital services that patients are reporting to me.

All are serious and, in my opinion, more the fault of management than of the over-stretched, demoralised staff, struggling to do the best possible under impossible circumstances.

Most patients' and relatives' letters to me applaud the efforts of the doctors and nurses. In addition, more and more staff members are expressing their distress to me about the problems at work.

To turn to other topics, I have had a helpful meeting with representatives from the Environment Agency and plan to share information with SKI and the Bewdley residents' flood committee, whose members are at the forefront nationwide in raising the awareness of flood alleviation measures.

An interesting afternoon was spent with the vice-chair of the district council and the mayors of Kidderminster and Bewdley at the annual meeting of the Wyre Forest Talking Newspaper.

We were very impressed with the professionalism and dedication of all involved in the production of around 300 copies of this weekly tape.

Acknowledgement is due to the local police for the gift of all their discarded tapes and to the Royal Mail who provide an excellent delivery for sacks full of tapes every week.

Several letters this week have stressed people's fears about the threatened military response to terrorism.

A common theme is that vengeance is wrong and cannot do anything except worsen the situation.

At the time of writing I have been reassured by the restraint so far shown by the USA.

I have also been relieved to see humanitarian relief commencing for the starving refugees trying to escape from Afghanistan.

The House of Commons has been recalled and I await the debate with keen interest and concern.