"Should not"

There was a bizarre reader's letter in today's Metro:

Whether or not you accept the NHS needs reforming (Metro, Mon) or repeated assurances from both the Tories and Lib Dems they have no plans to privatise the NHS - something I don't believe - there's another issue to consider.

Anyone who can recall the disastrous consequences of the internal market introduced into the NHS under the Thatcher government will remember any form of competition in this area will lead to disastrous results, such as hospitals and GPs competing with each other.

More importantly, health provision should not be based on whether one company is better than another at providing a service.

Dave Reardon, London.

Is this letter tongue-in-cheek or is he operating on a completely different level of reality?