In late August, my GP asked me to get a blood test at Haslemere Hospital, a service provided by Royal Surrey Hospital. 

The wait for an appointment was 22 days. 

It seems RSCH has reduced the service by 33 per cent, operating only three days a week with staff reduced from three to two. 

Prior to Covid, this was a walk-in service on the day.

This is a massive deterioration in the service without, I understand, any consultations with local doctors or patients. 

There is a sign encouraging people to go to Milford for test, a some 15-mile trip over narrow, unsuitable roads and adding to pollution!  

Seems things were better under Virgin healthcare.

Today I received a message from the NHS asking me to book a Covid jab – but, of course, there is no site in the Haslemere area to have the jab, again the nearest is Midhurst or Petworth. 

It appears Heartlands, who now fund NHS in Surrey, is the disaster for those in south Surrey that many feared.

Robert Knowles

Beech Road, Haslemere

Former Conservative councillor for Haslemere East and Grayswood, and leader, Waverley Borough Council