It's time the health service in Scotland was given its own distinctive identity

Soon after the 1997 election, while president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, I tried, to no avail, to persuade the late Geoffrey Scaiffe, chief executive of NHS (Scotland), that it was time to consider rebranding NHS (Scotland) as the Scottish National Health Service. The brand name for the NHS in England was simply NHS rather than NHS (England). I suggested there was a need for clarity with regard to identity and ownership.

I note the recent rebranding of ScotRail, and the branding of Scottish Government initiatives, such as Healthier Scotland and Safer Scotland. I also note that the Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, has agreed the NHS (I presume the English bit) is to be subject to a major rebranding exercise this autumn.

There are now major differences in the national health services of Scotland and England. If the English service is committed to rebranding, the Scottish health minister should look for distinctive rebranding in Scotland.

(PROF) JOHN CASH
Otterburn Park
Edinburgh

The shortcomings identified in the report into the outbreak of C. difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital (your report, 8 August) are scandalous. It is probable that facilities in some Third World countries are better than those in some Scottish hospitals, with the chance of infection much lower.

One of the main problems affecting public services is "accountability". Patients entrust their lives to highly paid health board and hospital trust bureaucrats, and when things go seriously wrong, no-one really accepts responsibility. The same people continue in their jobs or are given lucrative leaving packages. We will be told lessons have been learned yet inevitably the same problems crop up again and again.

BOB MacDOUGALL
Oxhill
Kippen, Stirlingshire

A growing numbers of wounded forces personnel are being repatriated to the UK, some with horrific injuries. They need specialist treatment and care, but the NHS is not meeting their needs.

With the continued growth in medically discharged personnel, our servicemen and women are owed the best medical care possible. The existing facilities are falling short, and the closure of our naval and military hospitals to save money has proved total folly.

A dedicated military and veterans hospital will greatly help resolve this national scandal. An e-petition to the Prime Minister is to be found at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk

TONY DALTON
Lochavich
By Taynuilt, Argyll

The power of broccoli as a weapon against heart disease (your report, 7 August), and, indeed, the ability of other common vegetables to cure many diseases, has been known for more than 100 years.

The New York Post of August 1905 stated: "All the prominent physicians of New York have received a circular from the New York Post-Graduate Hospital announcing the discovery of a new cure for consumption. It is the juice of raw vegetables (potatoes, carrots, celery and the like), the dose being two ounces after meals."

It went on to state that 11 patients with well-developed pulmonary TB had been cured. Fifty others were under treatment and progressing satisfactorily.

But such "low-tech" approaches did not sit well with organised medicine and its vested interests, so this safe and natural means of recovering from serious illness remains the domain of alternative medicine practitioners.

ALAN HUNTER
Morningside Drive
Edinburgh