I would like to thank all of the many friends and colleagues who have called, texted and emailed me support and encouragement following the news of my removal as chairman of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust.

I accept responsibility on behalf of the trust for the part it played in the failures of the urgent care system earlier this year.

But, others who had responsibility for the failure of the wider system should also be held to account.

The record shows that since then the trust has made major changes and has recovered strongly.

Whatever the issues around my leadership, I would refer those who might be concerned to a statement issued by the trust medical director: “We have been successfully implementing plans that we developed at the beginning of the year to improve our performance, an improvement which has been acknowledged by Monitor.

“For example, in the first seven months of 2009/10, we expanded our workforce by 150 and, during the current month, we have opened £2.8million of developments to increase our bed base.

“We are now consistently achieving national standards for key performance targets, such as the fourhour A&E and our 18-week referral to treatment standards; and the most recent and accurate data for our hospital standardised mortality rate gives a figure of 90.2 for the period April- July (the national average is 100).

“The trust board is fully committed to improving services and the patient experience, and believes that the plans that are in place will continue to drive up quality.”

I would like to wish the trust and all the dedicated and hard-working staff all the best in what is going to be a difficult period across our NHS.

Richard Bourne
Former chairman
Colchester Hospital<<br/> University NHS
Foundation Trust

...After reading the letter written by Andrew Timmis (Letters, November 24) concerning the appalling lack of cardiac rehabilitation in this region, I feel that your readers need to know our story.

In August, 2008, my husband was admitted as an emergency patient to Dedham Ward, Colchester General Hospital, suffering from chest pains and he received first-class care and attention.

On being discharged as an in-patient, he was given an appointment to have an angiogram in September 2008.

My husband was told that day he would need a triple by-pass operation and he would be referred to the cardiac team at Basildon Cardiac Centre.

My husband visited the consultant and seven members of his team in one appointment and, subsequently, was admitted to Basildon Hospital in January 2009, for his by-pass operation, and was home within six days.

The Colchester cardiac rehabilitation team visited three days after my husband returned home, and gave us a cardiac manual, a tape and their contact details.

We had a follow-up appointment in March at Basildon Hospital and my husband started his rehabilitation programme immediately in Colchester.

Unfortunately, he suffered a “silent heart attack” in April, and his rehabilitation programme was put on hold and he was under the care of the Heart Failure Team at the Primary Health Care Trust in Colchester.

With their care, supervision and dedication, he was able to restart his rehab programme in September and he finishes it next week.

The entire cardiac teams in Colchester and Basildon have been wonderful to us both, with support and assurance at all times, and we feel that they all deserve the utmost praise for their dedication and service.

Mary and Brian Torole
Magnolia Drive
Colchester

...Please pass my many thanks to Clacton Hospital.

I recently attended the minor accident and the audiology department, where all the staff were most helpful.

Mrs Walker
Abbey Crescent
Thorpe-le-soken