£350m a week for a national care service? Hmm… time for some joined-up thinking | Brief letters

A side-of-the-bus calculation | GPs, nurses and preventive healthcare | House guests | Treasured kitchen tools | Hedgehog-flavoured crisps | Advance booking A quick side-of-the-bus calculation reveals that the £18bn annual cost of a national care service ( How will Burnham’s national care service work – and how will it be funded?, 29 September ) equates to about £350m per week. How fortunate it is that an option declared by Andy Burnham of rejoining the EU would result in increased trade and hence greater public taxation revenues of £770m per week .

A chance for some joined-up thinking, perhaps? Mike Cashman Milton Keynes • Since the early 1980s, GPs have recruited the teamwork of practice nurses to manage preventive healthcare ( Three in four UK GPs ‘too busy to talk to their patients in depth’, 27 September ).

There are now 23,000 providing excellent care. Elaine Fullard Oxford Continue reading...