SIR - The T&A reports (May 16) that monthly A&E visits at BRI have plummeted by 49per cent between this April and that month last year.

Similarly, there was a 47per cent drop at Airedale NHS Trust.

This sharp reduction has prompted concern that some people's fear of infection has kept them from seeking care.

Whilst this may indeed have been the situation in some cases, there was no mention of the previous concerns that A&E was being used unnecessarily to a very significant extent.

So, whilst there may be some worries in all this, perhaps it has also kept away those who really shouldn't have been there in the first place. Maybe every cloud does have a silver lining.

Bob Watson, Springfield Road, Baildon