Mostof the time, NHS staff do a wonderful job.

Our letters pages regularly include warm tributes from patients full of praise for the treatment they have received.

But occasionally, things go wrong and today we have another example of a patient unhappy at the way his illness was dealt with.

Mark Underhill had a serious stomach complaint, but four appointments with a consultant were cancelled.

By the time he was finally seen, his condition had worsened considerably and at the age of 22, he has now lost part of his colon, leaving him and his family devastated.

It is difficult, of course, to prove whether the outcome would have been different had Mr Underhill been seen earlier.

But had that happened, he might have stood a chance of avoiding a major operation and the turmoil that inevitably goes with it.

We should not forget the good work our doctors, nurses and admin staff do for us.

Much of it will not be matched anywhere in the world.

But it is right that when occasional failures in the system occur, they are highlighted so that everyone can learn from mistakes and, hopefully, prevent a recurrence.