Letter

History matters

Dear healthmatters — I’d like to say how much I enjoy the regular ‘50 years ago’ column by Charles Webster in healthmatters.

It’s a breath of fresh air to find writing which is so well-informed. I like the fact that Webster avoids the immediate and superficial reactions typical of so many other sections of the media, and instead interprets current events in their proper historical and political context.

This kind of in-depth understanding of the history of how we got to where we are is exatcly what is needed to help us think through the sorts of choices which now face us, especially in regard to the recent proposals for changing the way long-term care for older people is financed. Could you get Charles Webster to explain the history of that particular issue?