FROM the Hereford Times online report ‘Revealed: The best and worst GP surgeries in Herefordshire', the online reader can discover that there are 15 GP practices or medical centres in a county that, according to Wikipedia, plays host to a population of 188,719.

That translates as mean average caseloads of over 12,000 patients every group practice, while the focus of the survey was on patient satisfaction with individual medical practices, in a county not known for very good public transport access, and thereby hangs a tale.

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A while ago, I was told of a very frail Hereford Medical Group patient living off Kings Acre Road who was given a Sunday appointment with no Sunday buses and no internet access to set his own appointment date and time.

Gone are the days when an inner London GP I was transferred to in 1999 by way of previous GP’s retirement advised me, “I don’t have preset appointments for patients because I don’t believe that people get ill by appointment.”

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

Given the above statistical ‘nuts and bolts’, and the GP practice-specific questions asked of patients, I believe questions need to be asked regarding the terms of reference of those responsible for the questions.

And does the Starmer-led government take the above factors into consideration when considering the infrastructure required for prospective population growth? Perhaps one of the county’s 2024 Labour Party candidates could assist with that enquiry?

ALAN WHEATLEY

Hereford