HAVING attended the recent community meeting to hear about the plans by the Argyle Group to close the St Clements Neyland Surgery, I learnt some things.

According to the lead doctor presenting their case apparently Pembrokeshire is such a dump that no GP in the UK, or elsewhere I guess, wants to work here.

Now let me think, beautiful beaches, wide open spaces, less traffic and pollution, lower crime rate than most, and a low cost of living/housing to spend my £80/100ksalary on.

No, I don’t see the attraction either, much rather work in a polluted, noisy, expensive crime ridden inner city.

Maybe they should get someone from the tourist board to do their recruitment because they obviously aren’t selling.

Oh sorry, misapprehension – crime! Apparently another reason given for closing is the level of violence in Neyland, that the doctors feel threatened. I’ll have to make sure my wife doesn’t go out alone in future for her walks, and ride shotgun when she visits the Co-op next.

Call me cynical, but as a business, which doctors’ practices are, don’t they gain financially from the closing of the surgery?

They get paid most of their income from head count, so by transferring their business and income from Neyland to Pembroke Dock, then losing the overheads of running the St Clement’s branch of their empire they make more profit.

Similar approach to the banks then – all about profit not service.

The final insult – apart from no one from the health authority turning up to the so-called consultation sham – was the answer to the question: “What happens if the health board refuse the closure?”

“We’ll close anyway.”

You couldn’t make it up.

STEVE VINCE

Neyland