SIR – I recall many years ago when it was first suggested to replace Worcester’s ageing hospital on Castle Street the planned buildings were far too small.

There was, I recall, a doctor who claimed that to serve a community the size of Worcester by the time of its completion would have given it just five years before it became overcrowded. That doctor was clearly right.

I recently heard from a reliable source that to deal with the projected population by 2022, that’s in four years, a hospital twice the current size would need to be built but if building started tomorrow it would take five years or more to complete.

It begs the question why was our promised future generation hospital built with a limited usable life and in doing placing the residents of this city at serious risk of death.

Ivan Carter 

Worcester