I AM not a patient at the Okement Surgery, nor at Okehampton Medical Centre but I am sure that the surgery closure will inevitably put a strain on the town’s medical centre.

They say they have capacity to handle the sudden influx of patients from the surgery — and with their relatively recent expansion I am sure that their claim is genuine.

Yet with the closure of the Okement Surgery and the impending growth of Okehampton I can not foresee a reality where the medical centre can cope with the entire town’s day to day medical needs.

Why not expand the Okement Surgery at the hospital to make it sustainable? We know the town numbers are growing, so grow the Okement Surgery with it so there are two practices for the town’s residents.

Richard Pringle

Okehampton