Sir, - My colleague Dr Chris Luke wrote (May 1st) about the increasing incidence of "foot-and-mat disease" in the emergency departments in Cork hospitals. No doubt the injuries he reports are genuine and no doubt the disinfectant mats pose a threat to life, limb and shoe; but he of all people will be aware that if anything is placed on the ground in these parts, one's passage will be hindered by a queue of entrepreneurs lined up to trip over it. - Yours, etc.,
Andrew Curtain, Consultant Obstetrician, and Gynaecologist, Cork University Hospital.