In his letter of last week concerning Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Dave Fowler the UKIP prospective parliamentary candidate is, I am afraid to say, rather wide of the mark. He is right to flag up the contribution that Sir Jimmy Savile has made over many years to the National Spinal Injuries Centre, but he fails to recognise the investment that this trust has made in developing the hospital in recent years, most notably the multi-million pound investment in the Wendover Wing, opened last year by HRH The Princess Royal. This building allowed us to move away from the 'Nightingale' open plan-style wards that have characterised the hospital for decades. As well as improving the experience for patients, these new wards have, in no small part, been responsible for rates of hospital acquired infection that place us in the top performing third of trusts in the country.

Visitors to the hospital will also notice the construction of our new £18m outpatient and ophthalmology centre adjacent to the NSIC, while the £6m refurbishment of our maternity centre is also under way. Stoke Mandeville continues to offer a full range of services, including treatment for heart conditions, cancer care and lung problems, and has met tough Government goals on reducing the time our patients wait for treatment a full nine months ahead of schedule.

We are aiming to become an NHS foundation trust shortly. I believe that by becoming such a trust, we will have a golden opportunity to further invest in the healthcare needs of the populations we serve.

Anne Eden
Chief Executive
Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust.