In reply to Lisa Fricker’s letter, my mother at 95 and myself had to move from our local Regents Park Surgery to Shirley Health Partnership.

When we moved from a smaller surgery with four disabled parking spaces we had to all share limited disabled parking spaces at Shirley Health Partnership.

Before the move we had a meeting at SHP and as patients we were fully informed we would retain our own doctors etc.

We had a thorough Q&A session with the doctors etc.

Shirley Health Partnership have written to all patients asking for their views on this move.

Also there are details in the surgery for those attending appointments and on their website.

From Millbrook and Regents Park the Lidl site is a shorter distance and has a bus stop at McDonalds with a shorter walk to the proposed surgery than from Shirley High Street then down Grove Road and turning into Kentish Road.

Also, there are more disabled & other parking bays at the former Lidl site.

Driving through the pot holed Foundry Lane area is no joke for car drivers.

Also, the site entrance in Kentish Road is limited, often has large vans parked either side of the entrance and is like an accident awaiting to happen in this busy residential area.

There is also an on site pharmacy planned too and I congratulate the Shirley Health Partnership in placing their patients needs to the fore.

Having lived in Fremantle and Shirley too, I am fully aware of the positives/negatives of SHP.

All I would ask is that pre Covid and during Covid when you have to telephone the surgery the waiting time is a nightmare and hopefully this can be addressed in the near future and possibly recruit extra administrative staff.

I too would urge those travelling by car/taxi/bus then a short walk to consider the many advantages of the proposed new site for our future needs and recruiting new patients all the time too rather than the cramped surgery we now have.

The doctors and nurses are excellent and they too deserve the proposed new surgery.

Colleen Azor

Southampton