Dear Editor,

We need your help everyone. The volunteer run Welly Hopper Patient Transport Scheme, which has become so popular for patients needing to go to Wellington Medical Centre or Wellington Community Hospital, needs YOU.

We need help as we would like more volunteer drivers who use can their own cars for each journey. We are allowed by the government to pay drivers 45p a mile and we meet the cost of public liability insurance. Car owners’ standard insurance meets other relevant insurance needs.

We also need help from volunteers to give a few hours a week to take patient phone requests for transport. Mobile phone provided.

We are a friendly group and would welcome you as one of our volunteers. Interested? Then please ring me, Erica, on 01823 669022.

Sincerely,

Erica Adams

Chairman, The Welly Hopper Patient Transport Scheme

Dear Editor,

The shock at the closure of Wellington's second, smaller - but nonetheless crucially important - GP practice, Luson, announced just as July 2025 drew to a close, has sent the town reeling, 'fighting for breath' and desperately trying to understand precisely what has happened to bring about this disastrous collapse of a much-loved and historic institution.

I think it is fair to say very few, if any, of the patients - I am one of almost 44 years standing! - knew how critical things really were behind the scenes and had been optimistically looking-forward to seeing a complete make-over of the 'dated' Waiting Room. We had even been canvassed on our opinions for the new décor!

But, for various complicated reasons, it would appear there is no way back now and as of late September, we are all to be transferred as seamlessly as possible, to Wellington Medical Centre, just down the road, already experiencing its own difficulties with an ever-increasing patient list nearing 20,000, without even counting Luson's fast-approaching 6,000+!

Despite multiple positive assurances, it will likely be a difficult operation for all concerned and what is becoming abundantly clear is that 3 pivotal things now need to happen very urgently. The first must be a redoubling of efforts to re-open WMC's pharmacy - the current refusal of Orange's application by the ICB to take on the premises, is as incomprehensible as it is absurdly inappropriate! - along with speedy re-allocation of all NHS funding which would have gone to Luson, to WMC in order to support the change-over and help recruit the extra GPs and other staff needed.

And lastly, in the longer-term, we need to work towards finding a site for a completely new GP practice, ideally on the eastern side of the town. For a place like Wellington, now surrounded by huge swathes of new housing - built by commercial developers without the requisite community infrastructure! - just to have one, single GP practice is entirely unacceptable: these 3 conditions represent the absolute minimum with which we should, any of us living here, be satisfied.'

JF Pocock,

Wellington

Dear Editor,

I read in the paper today that a pharmacy was not allowed to open at the Medical Centre because the NHS said that Wellington had enough and that councillors are not pleased.

I thought you might like to hear my saga from this week.

I have been with Luson for over 40 years (another saga about them closing), and so my prescriptions went to Lloyds. All was well.

Then Jhoots took over (but with far poorer service. Long waits, staff absence, closed, didn't have the medications etc etc. Limited shelves and the staff crawled around on the floor looking for the right medications]

So I decided to get my repeat prescriptions online. Great service but I forgot to do it last week and we are going on holiday on Friday.

So I got a prescription from my doctor on Tuesday and took it to Superdrug. I queued for half an hour to be told that they couldn't do it till Friday. I said that really I need it on Thursday so they told me to try Boots.

By this time the queue reached the door.

I went to Boots. Same queuing and they also told me they couldn't do it till Friday. When I told them about my holiday, they said to come back late Thursday afternoon for my medication, which I did.

Late Thursday pm, I was 12th in the queue, so waited 30 minutes to be told that they hadn't done it yet but to take a seat. 30 minutes later they gave me medication.

I felt so sorry for the staff. And the patients!

Richard Wiltshire

via email

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