Sir, – It beggars belief to find a local NHS so lacking in the comprehension of the healthcare needs of the local communities in Richmondshire that fall within their charge. Have they learnt nothing from the Friarage downgrading debacle?

Surely the 51,000 residents in Richmondshire are entitled to have their own Out of Hours Service so when the base at Catterick Garrison was declared unfit, to avoid their unnecessary anxieties, a Plan B to relocate immediately to an alternative location in Richmondshire with its completion date should have been given when it was announced the current centre was closing.

Instead we had a hospital trolley full of excuses why the date when the Out of Hours Centre opening at the obvious candidates, the Harewood GP Practice and the Friary Community Hospital in Richmond, was to be kept secret ranging from where to store a box of controlled drugs, where the bed for the Doctor would be, whether the telephone and internet would be up to scratch and so on. All that was needed was two sparsely furnished consulting rooms, surely the rest could be taken for granted in buildings currently operating within the NHS?

Sadly, Richmondshire District Council had to put the local NHS under pressure at our meeting on Tuesday last to come up with a date and a location and we naturally welcome their commitment to the Harewood GP Surgery, initially by November 11, and the best permanent solution as a base, The Friary Hospital, within six–12 months.

For years the MoD wanted the base on the Garrison because there were legitimate concerns that young families of serving soldiers posted abroad, many without cars, needed the peace of mind of being able to visit a nearby Out of Hours Centre doctor with a child that was unwell. Those concerns are not met by it being currently 17 miles away.

Hawes just nine years ago enjoyed our own GPs undertaking the Out of Hours Service. Then it was transferred to Catterick, 24 miles away, and it is currently located 38 miles away at the Friarage. If we want to stay with the Hospital Trust that traditionally has met our healthcare needs, consultant-led maternity and children's services are now 60 miles away at the James Cook, alongside the overnight A&E service for children.

If this is the new NHS please can we have our old NHS back?

Councillor JOHN BLACKIE

Leader of Richmondshire District Council.