When my son was a junior, six years old, he was picked to represent Dorset for tennis. What we and other parents of west Dorset found was talent had little to do with what funding went to where.

What was apparent was facilities were either allocated to Bournemouth or Poole in the form of tuition, courts etc. Even with regard to competition within the county, any west Dorset player very rarely got a place in the team although they out played their east Dorset counterparts.

The Echo spells out the funding for the health service with again Bournemouth and Poole receiving the bulk of the money available. and Dorset county, Wareham hospitals having to cut bed numbers to make ends meet.

West Dorset hospital services cover a wide area from Lyme Regis in the west, Sherborne and Blandford to the north and the Purbeck peninsula eastwards - these areas have little in the way of public transport with many elderly residents having to make long journeys for their health care needs.

Building, and especially encouraging the elderly to retire in our idyllic area, is putting a bigger strain on Dorset Healthcare and, as there appears no let up in this trend, will continue.

We haven’t reached winter yet where the strain is most felt on our health care services and appointments and hospital admissions are routinely cancelled and have been for various reasons through out the summer months and now we are about to enter the bed crisis period. I wonder where those in need will receive their care. I’ll leave that problem and thought with your readers, for me I’m waiting five months for a follow up appointment to the hospital

When I travel eastwards I find the roads and facilities are both in better repair and facilities so it’s no wonder in the West of the county road traffic accidents have increased, some of course is down to the standard of driving, some down to road surfaces and visibility plus west Dorset roads in many cases being unsuitable for the sheer volume of traffic, which again is down to funding and need ignored.

We were led to believe we would be better off with a new combined council but I see, certainly for facilities and funding, no change granted we are only a few months in but would have liked to see some change, which to my view hasn’t happened and cynical or realist that I am isn’t likely to happen.

What will I’m sure with various reason or excuses is the continuation of uneven services another prime example being how many buses visit Poundbury at the last count eight an hour and that’s only going one way! So come Guys as my granddaughter would say give us all a break.

Heather Robinson

Bridport Road,

Dorchester