Sir – I am fortunate that I rarely require the services of the NHS, but on Saturday I did. With a sudden onset of very severe abdominal pains, I took a taxi to a very busy John Radcliffe Hospital accident and emergency ward expecting a long wait.

The receptionist, noticing that I was literally doubled up with pain, went out of her way to get me dealt with as soon as possible. While I had to wait a short time for treatment, I was told it was on its way and given painkillers in the meantime.

Once in the treatment process, I was dealt with effectively and efficiently. While staff were obviously dealing with many other patients, all the staff who dealt with me were sensitive to me and my needs.

They told me who they were, what they were doing, what I could expect, how long things would take and answered all my queries clearly. What I did not feel was that I was one more number to be processed to hit the targets. No one asked me to produce an insurance policy, nor a credit card, nor where I was born or whether my particular medical condition was due to a lifestyle choice. I came away safe in the knowledge that at the JR there was a working culture and ethos that puts patients’ needs at the heart of what they do.

On Friday, the NHS, our NHS, will be 65 years old. Its failings need to be addressed but that does not mean its social ethos should be sacrificed on the altar of profit.

The need to have an NHS that meets the needs of everyone, that is free at the point of delivery and that is based on clinical need and not ability to pay, is as relevant today as it was in 1948.

Ian Bray, Oxford