Health charities

Sir, The answer to the question posed by Margaret McCartney (“Do health charities do any good?”, times2, Mar 13), is unequivocally “yes”. Health charities save lives and assist people to cope with serious medical conditions. Their work to raise awareness of particular conditions encourages early diagnoses, while their funding for research supports the development of new treatments. Their support is valuable to those struggling with the stress of ill-health. Furthermore, many such charities work directly with patients to offer innovative, preventative health and care services within local communities.

Health charities are required like any other to demonstrate to the Charity Commission that their work is carried out for the public benefit, and their advocacy activity is no exception. We should be thankful to have so many exceptional organisations with the best interests of patients at heart.