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Forum writer Lee Tai Huat’s letter “ ” (Aug 8) hits the nail on the head. As a hand surgeon in private practice, I have seen many patients who were told at the restructured hospital emergency department that there was a waiting time of six hours or more or that they had to wait an indefinite period of time for a hospital bed and surgery. Some, having seen a specialist for numbness or pain in their hand, were given three-month appointments for the necessary investigations before treatment could be planned. In a private healthcare setting, they received definitive specialist treatment within hours for emergencies, and within days for less urgent cases, and were thankful to have bought an Integrated Shield Plan that enabled this.  We need to relook the public-private dichotomy at a fundamental level, embracing a strong private sector to supplement an overburdened public system. Currently, doctors entering the private sector are seen as “going to the dark side”. They are discouraged from returning as visiting consultants by being remunerated less than their peers. Visiting consultants are suspected of potentially “stealing” patients for their private practice. Instead of this “us versus them” mentality, the public and private sectors should work as partners in healthcare. One such model is adopted in Australia, where many specialists practise in the private and public sectors simultaneously, receiving a salary pro-rated from that of a full-time consultant for their time in public healthcare. This properly recognises their contribution and allows them to teach, do research and serve subsidised patients in public hospitals while treating those who cannot wait in their private practice. It is not uncommon for heads of departments or professors to have private practices. Patients choosing not to wait for investigation and treatment after being seen in the public sector are not considered “stolen”, but as reducing the queue in the public sector.  The private sector has a vast pool of medical experience and talent that should be recognised and tapped in national healthcare planning. Doctors leave the public system for various reasons; financial gain is often not the main one. Inevitably, more will leave each year, but many would gladly give back some time under the right conditions. A