From Richard Bruce, Thorley:

We always regarded ourselves as lucky to have the surgery at Yarmouth and the very supportive and understanding GPs who served the town, lifeboat, tourists and those living in the surrounding areas so well for decades.

No doubt in these days of centralisation its closure is seen as inevitable but I find it strange that Yarmouth is in such a decline with the school closing and the fire station closure proposed.

Odd then that there is still a veterinary presence for pets.

I guess it shows what is important in life in these modern times but surely as a major port of entry for tourists and having a lifeboat potentially bringing casualties ashore it would be wise to have these services on hand?

Too late for the school and, it seems, for the GP surgery but the need remains.

We remain eternally grateful to our retired GPs for their brave support in our struggles for health. We miss them and their understanding.

While it is true that health centres offer more services, it is often forgotten that knowledge of a patients history and condition is often more important.

Sadly as the health centres offer more services it seems that specialist nurses, chemists and hospital A&E pick up much of the work that GPs once did.

We once had half a dozen hospitals on the Island and now the one which is left all too often sends patients to the mainland for care.

Apparently this is progress.