My late husband was a regular sailor for 18 years, finishing in the Reserves at HMS Sussex.

He won the British Empire medal, went on Russian Convoys to Archangelsk three times and had a gold medal from Russia. He served in the North Atlantic, going from Liverpool to Malta in the Second World War and had the Long Service and Good Conduct medals and Bar.

He did not deserve the poor treatment he received at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. Vain hopes were raised on first bed allocation and dashed on second bed allocation in a crowded, dirty ward, Peel Stewart.

He was admitted, discharged, admitted again. His bed was under a bright light in the centre of the ward. No sleep or relaxation was possible. The ward floor was dirty, curtains torn and beds crammed in. May we all be told in detail where the vast amounts of taxpayers' money really end up? By special audit, please, at this hospital. No more scandals at the RSCH or elsewhere.

Save the NHS. The people have paid through the nose for it. My husband died after four days in The Martlets in 1998. The guilty, either in Parliament or elsewhere, must be found.

-Mrs Sheila Bartle, Jubilee Road, Portslade