Thriving and expanding

I FEEL that I must correct some of the errors in Mr Pitch's diatribe in the Mercury of December 31.

Firstly, far from being a 'sleepy village', Wrington is a thriving and expanding village with a great community spirit. It is out of the latter that SOS has arisen.

Secondly, I write as chairwoman of the parish council, which is a statutory body of local government, whereas SOS is a voluntary organisation set up for the single purpose of trying to save the surgery in Wrington. While I wholeheartedly support what they are doing, they are not my 'chums'. I am, of course, fully aware of the NHS policy of abolishing practice boundaries, but that does not mean that I, like many others, agree with it. In fact, I think it will probably lead to duplication of services and higher costs.

To refer back to Dr Hooper's letter in the Mercury of December 24, I would point out that all the villages he lists as having no surgery, will find it no easier to reach Pudding Pie Lane than they do at present to reach Churchill and Wrington. All that will happen is that patients in Wrington and Redhill will be added to the numbers having to drive a substantial distance.

It is not just a question of being able to walk to the practice, desirable as that is; the doctors have still not put forward a plan to get patients to the surgery who have no access to private transport, thus very much reducing their rights to access their doctors. There is one bus an hour from Wrington to Budgens and then patients have to cut through a path to reach the new surgery. Fine on a nice day when you are reasonably fit, not so good if you are frail, have young children or the weather is bad. This is what needs to be addressed before anything else and although Wrington Vale keeps promising such a plan, nothing is yet forthcoming.

ECHO IRVING

Chairwoman, Wrington Parish Council

Church Walk, Wrington