THE offensive remarks made by Councillor Tommy Bray in his letter ("Nutters running hospital should be booted out") must be responded to.

All of us at the Trust are fully committed to providing high quality services for local people and to doing that within the resources available. I am sure that patients and the public of Cornwall, irrespective of their place of birth, would want to have modern and efficient services that are equal to the best in the UK.

The changes that are now being introduced are intended to do just that. Improvements that will speed up diagnosis, increase the numbers of patients able to benefit from day surgery, and reduce the amount of time others spend in hospital by offering more services closer to and even in people's own homes, are all well-tested ways of delivering a modern NHS.

Clearly the Trust has a responsibility to maximise the benefits that its assets can bring and in this respect both of the shops at the Royal Cornwall Hospital were put out for tender last summer. Whilst the Trust has been enormously grateful for the generous contributions it has received from the WRVS, it has not had any income specifically from the Tower Block gift shop in the last three years. The WRVS were invited to take part in the tender process but were unsuccessful against a winning bid, which has the potential to bring in up to two to three times the income that both shops currently generate. We do greatly value the contribution of the WRVS volunteers, past and present, and are very keen to encourage those that wish to, to take up other volunteering opportunities at the hospital.

The security of staff, patients and others using our hospital sites also remains high on our agenda and we have enjoyed a very constructive partnership with Devon and Cornwall Police. More recently we have established our own security team who are able to provide extended cover for the hospital - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With this and other security measures that are in place we are confident that we can provide as secure an environment as is possible, whilst maintaining the right balance of public accessibility, without the need to pay for additional police services. The police office is to remain on site and will be used by local officers who are visiting the hospital as part of their duty.

Far from doing nothing, we are getting on with bringing our services "up-to-date" in order that the way we provide them truly reflects the skilled and highly professional care our staff have always and continue to offer.

Professor Colin Roberts, chairman, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust