I UNDERSTAND the feelings of Kathleen Northey and Charles Coutts requiring the NHS to finance up to £30,000 for their operations.

The problem is, the government has not got infinite finance – sometimes it is a case of education or health.

No youngsters should be leaving university with overdrafts – it starts them in life spending instead of saving – so the NHS will always have to decide priorities.

Therefore, if it is a case of a £9,000 replacement joint for me (I am in my 80s) or a child’s education there is no contest where the money should go.

The NHS have kept us oldies alive much longer than we could ever have imagined, and we are costing them a fortune.

we have been so lucky to have lived this long through so many exciting times, worked hard and played hard, so give the youngsters a better start in life!

Unfortunately it will get worse as scientist come up with new treatments that will keep the population living even longer – more pain, more medication, more operations, there will simply not be enough wage earners to pay the tax to teach our children and repair the bodies of our ever increasing ageing population.

KEN ADAMS, Glen Road, Parkstone, Poole