MY local doctors surgery has just moved to a nice new complex in Stourbridge with six doctors offering five day 9-6pm surgeries.

However whenever I try to book an appointment, I have a 3-4 day wait to see the doctor.

When I mistakenly went on the wrong day from my appointment with my very young daughter suffering with chickenpox I was told the doctor or nurse couldn't see me as they were 'choca'.

On hearing this I turned to survey the expansive waiting room occupied only by one solitary patient.

I was asked 'is it urgent?' but with my non-existent medical training and being of a 'sorry to bother you' persuasion, I couldn't honestly say it was.

The waiting times have increased since the move to the new accommodation and with these waiting times for anything other than urgent, is it any wonder our hospital A&E departments are full of 'non urgent' cases of people looking for an answer to their undiagnosed aches and pains in a reasonable timescale?

Philip Guise

Brierley Hill