Our NHS is too important to be spoiled

Read Andy's column every week in the Western Morning News

- Andy Phillips on Tuesday

HANDS up anyone who can give the full name of the NHS trust which runs hospitals in the wider Plymouth area, without consulting Google.

I am guessing there are few hands up, considering the answer is that it is called University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. Blimey, that is a mouthful.

Most people might roll their eyes and think: 'So what?' However, any time we report on Derriford Hospital, in Plymouth, this alphabet soup of a name comes into play.

Instead of 'bosses at Derriford Hospital said...' the story has to include 'managers at University Hospitals...'- I can't even bring myself to write all that again, in fear of getting carpal tunnel syndrome.

While this might seem facetious or even flippant, it makes it difficult to digest news about the hospital and its precincts without becoming lost in a maze of unwanted naming conventions.