Fight for living room surgery

Doctors want patients to be treated in purpose-built surgeries

A 50-year-old tradition of doctors holding surgeries in the front rooms of villagers' homes is under threat.

On a Friday evening patients regularly gather at two homes in the small village of Angle in Pembrokeshire to see their GP.

But the doctors who carry out consultations in the village say the weekly practice has to stop because it wastes time and the houses where they carry out consultations do not meet health and safety requirements.

The objections have angered many people who say travelling to Pembroke, their nearest town, for treatment would be inconvenient.

More than 250 people rely on the surgery - many of whom have been treated in the dining room of Margaret Jones' home for years.

My husband has osteoporosis - to take him into Pembroke and get him to sit in the surgery for hours on end would be extremely painful Sylvia Rees

"I have to dismantle my lounge completely so that we can sit at least 10 people," she said.

"We leave the television on so nobody can hear what is going on.

"We go across my little passage and into my dining room which is for the doctor.

"When it comes to safety I take out insurances...I have seen to everything."

Getting to Pembroke by public transport can take more than an hour which some patients say is not practical.

"My husband has osteoporosis - to take him into Pembroke and get him to sit in the surgery for hours on end would be extremely painful," said Sylvia Rees.

"I am 79 at Christmas. I mean, suppose I can't drive anymore then we really are stuck."

Time consuming

Residents have been sending letters in support of the Angle surgeries to Ashley Warlow from Pembrokeshire Community Health Council.

"The GP's are saying these homes fall short on health and safety grounds. There are no examination facilities," he said.

"The practices go further to say that it is actually quite time consuming to travel to the village of Angle."

Villagers have said one of the GP practices visits the Texaco refinery just a few miles from Angle for private work twice a week.

The community health council meets later this month to discuss the issue.

Their findings will be reported to the local health board.