AFTER a recent publication of the NHS Direct helpline (0845 4647) in your newspaper, I thought I would write in order to praise the service they offer.

I had been discharged from casualty in Derriford with an undiagnosed broken knee and spent a night at home in agony.

The following morning, on ringing the NHS Direct, it was determined (by means of questions and simple tests) by a fully-trained nurse, that I needed to return to Derriford and an ambulance was arranged to collect me.

It is thanks to their help and support that I am now recovering — with a leg in full plaster!

Ann Hawken

Battery Lane

Tavistock