I want to add to Mark Lawson’s list of programmes that have changed British society: my husband Peter Ransley’s 1980 BBC Play for Today, Minor Complications (From the Post Office scandal to nuclear attack: 13 TV shows that shook Britain, 9 January). Peter dramatised the true story of Stella Burnett’s suffering as a result of medical negligence in a London hospital and her almost impossible struggle for truth and justice.
It was in the days before helplines, and we were inundated by phone calls from distressed people with similar stories and there was no one to help. It took a letter to the Guardian to find Arnold Simanowitz, who – with a small grant from the Greater London council – bravely gave up his law practice to set up Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA). For 40 years, this has been the leading voice for patients on patient safety and justice.
Since its inception, AvMA has provided advice and support to thousands of people affected by avoidable harm in healthcare each year. It has also succeeded in moving patient safety higher up the agenda in the UK and brought massive changes to the way legal and health systems deal with clinical negligence.
Cynthia Ransley
London
• Interesting that the government has finally been forced to acknowledge the Post Office scandal by the public response to the recent ITV dramatisation.
Could the BBC perhaps show Cathy Come Home again to address the crisis around unaffordable rents and no-fault evictions?
Paul Clarke
Horsham, West Sussex
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