Letter: Where are we supposed to go when GP surgeries close?

I was absolutely dumbfounded to read in today's Echo (Friday, October 5) that the Abbotsbury Road and Chickerell surgeries will close in March 2019.

From the standpoint of living in Chickerell a 60 per cent amount of patients must be over 60, which is going to make life very difficult.

Also we have up to 2,000+ new homes being built over the next few years which means a minimum of 4,000 new patients and when l went to the planning meeting we were told by West Dorset Council that an area would be left for a new surgery but it will not be built because the Clerical Commission cannot afford to build it.

You also forgot to mention that Chickerell Surgery only has one doctor a day at best, and the staff there are fantastic as are our doctors when the surgery is open.

Can I ask where are we supposed to go once the two surgeries close.

If there is a shortage of GPs then the other surgeries are not going to be able to take us, plus we may have to travel miles, also our doctors know us, and it takes time for doctors and patients to build trust.

We are becoming a Third World country with the state of our NHS, it is a joke to keep throwing good money into a system that is broken. We need someone from the NHS background who knows what works and doesn't work to be on a special panel to sort the NHS out.

Please don't get me wrong the Staff within the NHS do an amazing job under stupid pressures, hence our local doctor's surgeries are closing.

I don't have the answers as l am not medically trained but l think we need to look at other countries and see what works and how they make it cost effective.

I feel for all the patients in Chickerell and Abbotsbury Road Surgeries, for the doctors who l hope are staying in the trade and will find new positions, the reception staff and all the other nurses and support staff that may loose their jobs, this is truly a very sad day.

JEFF COBB

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