I WAS alarmed to read the front page story Hospital Cuts on Agenda? in last week's Shuttle/Times & News.

So there is a £20 million overspend? That says to me that the current management team are unable to manage a budget and, indeed, if they have to employ a team of management consultants to look at cost-cutting options, are also unable to rectify their own miserable performances.

Management consultants do not come cheaply.

I would suggest that their first job would be to look at the efficiency of their employers, and perhaps make cuts there first. According to their website, the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust employs around 4,500 people and runs the three hospitals (Worcestershire Royal, Alexandra in Redditch and Kidderminster).

I wonder how many of those are front-line clinical staff and how many are administrative/support staff?

It is hard to see just exactly where cuts could be made at Kidderminster, since the current service level is skeletal, to say the least.

NIGEL PREECE

Birchfield Road

Kidderminster

l Regarding Kidderminster Hospital, I am angry and disgusted that this one excellent, debt-free, operational hospital has been stripped down to what is virtually a clinic.

The staff at administration level must be grossly overpaid. The Government has put extra money into the system, so there should be an outside investigation to see where it all went. Millions of pounds don't just disappear.

A BURTON

Pineridge Drive

Kidderminster