SIR – Thanks to David Hornsby (Letters, October 14), for clarifying figures on patients being moved from private treatment to public hospitals. I wonder that anyone should want private treatment if it results in the problems he describes (injuries and unexpected deaths).

Could it be time to stop physicians from “moonlighting” in the private sector? Some seem to take the attitude: “We’ll do the basic operation privately, then transfer the patient to the NHS thereby circumventing NHS queues.”I confess to being uneasy at Labour’s (and other government’s), use of the private sector to keep queues down, this effectively subsidises the private sector and hides shortcomings in the NHS.

John Hall, Pennithorne Avenue, Baildon