Bedford Hospital has a wonderful Diabetes Centre housed adjacent to the main site at Rye Close. Who would want to reduce its effectiveness in dealing with a huge and growing problem in UK society?

In a single visit to the Centre patients can have the current status of their condition tested and reviewed by specialists. This includes invaluable checks on the eyes which can be adversely affected over time.

Imagine the surprise of patients when these essentials checks were divorced from the Diabetes Centre and the resident specialists. The tests are now to be conducted using a mobile facility at a different time and place. This is being portrayed as "convenient" to patients.

How does that work?

At the Diabetes Centre all the tests used to be conducted and reviewed by specialists at a single visit to a single location. Now the separate eye checks means more time off work, more appointments, more travel, more waiting around and - if anything is found - probably a visit to the hospital anyway via your GP.

The most serious eye condition for diabetics involves the retina, and, more specifically, the network of blood vessels lying within it. The checks, previously carried out at the Centre, use technology not normally available to the High Street optometrist or ophthalmic optician.

Regular, annual eye examinations are extremely important, as you may not realise that there is anything wrong with your eyes until it is too late. However, if there are complications that affect the eyes, then this could result in loss of sight. Making such checks more inconvenient and more time consuming is in nobodies' interests - not the GPs and certainly not the patients.

On 24th June I wrote to Bedfordshire's PCT enquiring who had come up with this marvellous idea of separating eye checks from the other work of the Diabetic Centre. Bedfordshire's PCT is currently rated as 'weak' on its use of resources. Did the Trust expect that these new arrangements would help move that score to something more acceptable?

It is now a month later. I have received no reply of any sort; not even an acknowledgement.

Most sight-threatening problems caused by diabetes can be managed by laser treatment if it is given early enough. However, that laser treatment can only preserve the sight you have - not make it better.

Any moves made to deter patients, through increased cost and inconvenience, from making use of the excellent monitoring service available should be fully justified, should follow extensive consultations and should be under constant review.

That seems unlikely when the PCT cannot even be bothered to answer its correspondence.