IN response to letters published in recent weeks, mocking and complaining about nurses, it's with a mixture of sadness and frustration, I feel I have to speak out again.

Is it really necessary to publicly humiliate the nurses in our local newspaper?

We do the best we can with the time and manpower we have. Gone are the days that we have time to sit beside the bed and talk and listen to our patients. We simply don't have the time anymore, as for cleaning lockers etc, Fairfield have employed housekeepers for those such duties on every ward.

I'm sure all complaints are genuine, but please why don't you all use our complaints procedure, which is available to anyone who requires it? We appreciate your comments good and bad.

I'm sorry to have read that Ward Six have been caught in the crossfire, whilst Ward Seven were being praised. Ward Six also have a difficult job with staffing levels which are much less than Ward Seven, yet despite this, they always come to our rescue in an emergency situation if needed (especially on nights). So please leave us alone and let us do our job.

A. WHITE.