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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Letters

Capt Tom Moore is a hero, but the NHS shouldn't have to rely on charity

The second world war veteran Captain Tom Moore, 99, doing a lap of his garden with his walking frame.
The second world war veteran Capt Tom Moore, 99, does laps of his garden to raise money. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

While the walk completed by 99-year-old Capt Tom Moore to raise millions of pounds for the NHS was a tremendous act (War veteran, 99, raises £9m for NHS by walking lengths of back garden, 15 April), we should not forget that the NHS is not a charity but a state-funded service. Donation to a range of charities is laudable, but donations to the NHS undermine the fact that the government has starved it of cash and resources. The NHS is, and should be, paid for through taxation.
Jeremy Burke
London

• In view of Captain Tom’s effort, is it not time to promote him to Major?
Dave Carter
Heaton Chapel, Stockport

• Hooray for Capt Tom Moore (Capt Tom Moore raises £13m for NHS as he completes garden walk, 16 April). By walking around his back garden, he has raised more than the Duke of Westminster’s NHS donation of £12.5m (Duke of Westminster donates £12.5m to NHS coronavirus fight, 15 April).
Jo Clarke
London

• The Duke of Westminster’s donation sounds generous, until you notice that it’s just 0.125% of his £10bn wealth – equivalent to someone with £100,000 donating £125.
Mike Garnier
Bristol

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters

• Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition

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