Graeme Keeton

PR and communications professional at a very big hospital

The Mid Staffs report gave nursing a considerable shake, but those bad eggs are not representative of the nursing population, and certainly not of my mother.

Martina Keens-Betts

Writer, Researcher, Broadcaster and Coach on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Issues

It was via the process of writing to David Nicholson to request a meeting to discuss the possibility of a Department of Health analysis of Dr Phillip Lee MP's hospital plan that I chanced upon the deadly organisational species of a 'delegocracy'.

Sarah Tetteh

Showbiz and entertainment contributor and editor, plus new mum!

He's conquered the world of TV, but is Simon Cowell ready for a change of direction as he fronts a campaign for better healthcare? It could be the most unlikely career turn around than the Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming Governor of LA.

Martina Keens-Betts

Writer, Researcher, Broadcaster and Coach on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Issues

The Mid Staffs crisis is testament to the appalling problems which besiege the NHS organization or shall we say NHS disorganization and I believe are down to the fact that the whole thing is a haphazard configuration of dilapidated sites - the operations of which can never be properly mapped nor measured and thus efficiently managed.

Valerie Vaz

Labour MP for Walsall South

For all the government's tough talk of protecting the NHS, £2.2bn from the NHS budget was handed back to the Treasury in last week's budget. Ministers have let care standards slip as they obsess over an unnecessary reorganisation that's taken £3bn out of patient care when the frontline is making unprecedented savings.

Chris Skidmore

Conservative MP for Kingswood

Yesterday Andy Burnham stood before Parliament and, with incredible chutzpah, accused the government of failing to fully respond to the Francis report. This is, lest we forget, the report that he never wanted, about the NHS trust he so catastrophically recommended for Foundation Trust status.

Mahmood Naji

Medical student at Christ Church, Oxford, founder of 'Oxford Debates'

This is the story of an aspiring model who received a purported £4,800 breast enlargement on the NHS (enlarged to 36DD if you're curious) because her 'flat chest' was ruining her life... In terms of resources, £4,800 could buy 590 pairs of disposable gloves, 126 catheters, and - in a touch of morbid irony - four months of Herceptin treatment.

Margaret Heffernan

CEO and Author

Today, when nurses are being urged, in effect, to go back to school and retrain, the implication is that the more recent scandals were all the fault of nurses. Why? Presumably because they are easier to pick on: mostly female, further down the pecking order and therefore less powerful.

Francesca Martinez

Wobbly Comedian and Writer

Be sure of this: the one thing these policies are not about is saving money. If the government really wanted to save money, it would introduce much more stringent banking reforms. It would heavily regulate the financial sector that steered the country into this recession. It would close the tax gap, which is currently estimated to be over £100 billion a year.

Rima Amin

Freelance journalist

Independent midwifery is an option that allows women to have their children at home - where they feel safe and secure. Whilst the NHS provides this service, it would not be possible for every woman to have this option without independent midwives.

Katherine Murphy

Chief Executive of The Patients Association

Our research shows that the public often face a complex and convoluted system at a time when they need urgent care. Nearly 80% or respondents to our survey said they didn't feel safe relying on NHS out-of-hours care.

Lexi Finnigan

It is a well-known fact that fast food is bad for you. Relentless campaigning by the government's public health watchdog reminds us of this continually. Newly implemented traffic light food labelling now draws attention to fat, salt, sugar and calorie content in pre-packed food. So, where does fried chicken fall in the artery-clogging spectrum of fast food options?

Kim Bowler

Aussie living in London, and recovering from a serious car crash

I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world. I was rescued by the amazing, highly qualified London Air Ambulance Service, who arrived on the scene within just seven minutes. And, it's thanks to them that I'm still alive.

Dr Mark Britnell

Chairman and Senior Partner, Global Health Practice, KPMG

Healthcare in Africa is changing. While the continent still shoulders the greatest burden of communicable diseases, its economic growth is lifting millions out of poverty and creating an urban middle class which is demanding more from healthcare and government.

Clare Pelham

Chief Executive at Leonard Cheshire Disability

There's been a lot of chatter in recent days about the budget. But it has lacked passion. It has utterly failed to engage the great British public. Why is this?

John Wight

Writer

Ken Loach provides us with a timely reminder of a period in history when the needs and hopes of the British working class were the guiding light of government policy, resulting in the radical transformation of society and an economic recovery the like of which is desperately needed today.