Sir – I have three children of my own, and have had cause to appreciate our local NHS services. Therefore I deeply sympathise with Ms Keane, who could not find an intensive care bed at the John Radcliffe Hospital for her son when he needed one (Report, February 25). My frustration is, however, with your newspaper which believes that this is front page news. I am glad that we only need six intensive care beds for children in the region.

It is quite obvious that demand for these beds will change from day to day; often they will be empty, and sometimes they will be insufficient. This is normal — and the NHS has solutions to this which include sharing resources between regions.

If the JR had ten beds, the additional costs of nurses, doctors, and equipment would be much higher, and I assume mostly unused.

This poor resource management would then be newsworthy. You are not a red-top tabloid, and so should not treat normal statistical events as if they were a shock.

Stephen Baker, Chipping Norton