Stop three: Chichester, issue - health

For the next few weeks, Declan will be out on the road, finding out what really matters to ordinary voters across the UK.

He's already nick-named his transport "the flying lozenge".

And, he's just filed this web-log, from his Chichester, his third port of call on his UK tour:

The old dear had been sickly for a few days. But this morning, she got much worse. Frankly, it was not the news we wanted when we were talking about health.

Despite some intensive care, our trusty motorbike simply refused to start.

A combination of the damp air at Chichester's marina and a weekend off the road left her incapable of anything more than a few feeble splutters.

It was all slightly embarrassing, as our last live broadcast of the morning was already underway and Dermott and Natasha were waving us off onto our next destination. Even a hefty push from two helpful ambulance men couldn't coax her into life.

So, if a shove wouldn't work, the only option left was a tow. The bike and sidecar were loaded up into a horse-box, and the entire contraption hooked onto the back of our team's minibus. Meanwhile, our mystery driver sped off to a local DIY store to look for a battery charger.

Positive

In the back of the bus, I caught up with your comments about the NHS. Health was our big topic of the day, and according to the opinion polls it's the most important issue for more voters than any other.

A few weeks ago, we spent some time behind the scenes - and behind the screens - at St Richard's, the local hospital in Chichester.

It's seen as one of the best hospitals in the country. Many of you thought our film showed a very positive picture of the NHS; too positive, according to some. The hospital was clean, targets meant patients were treated more quickly, and extra funding was helping to deliver a better service.

But the message was more complex than all that. The hospital's chief executive also said the NHS will always demand more money, and we needed to make hard choices about what we should pay for - and what we should not.

Antiseptic

The senior casualty nurse said A&E targets were working, but only because the whole hospital had changed how it operated.

And the hospital was clean because antiseptic sprays had been installed by every door, and the chief housekeeper Jill ruled her wards with a rod of iron.

And - as we said during the broadcasts - this was just one hospital's story.

MRSA

We also spoke to Jacqui, whose father died at the start of this year in a Surrey hospital. She and her family were horrified by the lack of care for patients in that hospital; she told us it needed many more staff on the wards.

We also heard from Bill, who caught the hospital superbug in the early 1990s - when the Conservatives were last in Government. He said many of the members of his MRSA support group didn't think things had improved under Labour's 8 years.

The argument over clean hospitals dominated your text messages and emails to us.

Your views

Daniel in West Sussex said his friend in hospital had not seen the floor cleaned in three days.

Lucy in Wakefield thinks some cleaners don't know how to clean properly, and we should "bring in some of the old charwomen to show them how it's done!"

But why have there been more cases of MRSA infection in recent years? Mike in Oxford and Chris in Norwich both blame hospital staff, for wearing their uniforms outside the hospital.

Barbara in Kenilworth and Peter in High Wycombe said patients also shared some of the responsibility.

And what of the Conservative promise - included in Monday's manifesto launch - to deliver cleaner wards by giving matron's more power?

HK Ward in Bristol wrote, "bringing back Matrons will only add another layer of management."

Chris in Tipton said, "we don't need matrons to close down wards, we need more cleaners to make wards clean."

Many of you echoed Jacqui's concerns about the amount of care and attention patients get on hospital wards.

V. Richards in Dunstable said one of her friends had to be moved from an NHS ward to a private ward because the nurses were "far too overworked to give her any time and attention".

Jennie, emailing from the West Midlands, said her mother had to wait for "6 hours or more" in the Emergency Assessment Unit of her local hospital.

And St Richards in Chichester - the hospital we visited - was criticised by several viewers, including Amanda in Midhurst who claimed staff showed her mother "no interest or kindness. She fell and bruised herself badly."

But other correspondents wanted to praise their local hospital.

Harold in Hextable said he and his wife got "quick and efficient" care in the Darent Valley Hospital at Dartford, also adding that it "sparkled with cleanliness".

Alan, who recently had a knee operation in Nottingham, wondered why "isolated cases" are "taken as the criteria for treatment and cleanliness".

Linda in Cirencester said she could not "speak more highly" of Cirencester casualty unit.

And back in Chichester, Helen noted, "whatever it is that St Richard's does, other hospitals need to take note".

That brings us back to a point raised by our guests after one of our broadcasts.

Jacqui asked why the hospital that treated her father was not just as good at Chichester's.

Angie suggested St Richard's is better run.

If that really is the answer - that the hospital has better management and its staff is more motivated - doesn't that suggest some of that money we spend on "NHS bureaucrats" is more investment than waste?

After all, we demand - and reward - top class managers at Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer and BT.