READERS will have noticed hat our local hospitals recently called a halt to operations for a couple of weeks, and many will be aware of the many operations cancelled at the last minute, with misery for those in need of NHS help.

The situation is going to get worse.

Recent figures show that throughout last November and December, the total number of bed days lost in local hospitals due to cuts in Hampshire’s care for elderly people reached nearly 10,000 – which represents an increase of 60% over 2015.

Beds were blocked because cuts meant that there was not enough support to allow some elderly people who were ready to leave hospital to go home.

Wealthy Hampshire was paying residential homes for the elderly well below £400 whilst the minimum recommended was £554 per week.

As a comparison, Buckinghamshire paid £615.

Are grandparents in Buckinghamshire worth more than those in Hampshire?

If you cannot afford proper support in the community then the NHS becomes overloaded and beds become blocked as patients cannot move back into their homes.

The NHS is under great stress with financial pressures, increasing demand, difficulty in staffing, and bungling by governments.

The system would collapse without the superhuman efforts of many NHS staff.

We spend considerably less than the French and Germans on our healthcare.

We can consider health and social care like a pair of hands.

When the council cuts social care they are cutting the left hand off, and the right hand NHS has much more work to do.

We need additional investment, and health and care services need to be delivered together in an integrated fashion.

Luigi Gregori, Charlton Road, Andover