Philip Roe, of Bayards Cove, Dartmouth, writes:

I hope many people in our town, reading the letter from Mr Pierre Landell Mills, chairman of the Patients Participation Group, Chronicle, January 6, will share my increasing frustration.

It would appear, both from the capitulation he expresses and the depressing responses I have had over many months of correspondence with him and his committee members, that their existence has all along been a close and friendly understanding with our doctors.

This has blinded them from taking proper account of the almost desperate situation our townsfolk experience in ­gaining appointments or ­services from our existing medical centre.

Among our friends, it is said that appointments with a patient-nominated doctor can take up to five weeks and that blood tests and other incidental functions are taking at least a couple.

Our PPG argues that there is a greatly increased demand from patients, despite the fact that the population has declined. What, in truth has declined is the attendance by our doctors, some of whom, for reasons we are denied ­knowing, now appear to be attending the practice for only a couple of days a week, when as patients we feel they should all attend for a full working week and have a supporting skeleton system for weekend emergency coverage.

Our PPG and the hierarchy of the clinical commissioning group decided ages ago that Dartmouth Hospital has to go, so sadly no real effort has been made by anyone to challenge this cold, academic decision.

Whereas, had we protested, as other towns have done, there still could be a chance to prove that David did defeat Goliath.

Mr Landell Mills writes to me saying things such as: ‘A very high percentage of patients are satisfied or fully satisfied with the care provided by the local practice.’

Is this true? Am I deluded when I write that most folk we meet would deny this, with the view that waiting times are unacceptably long and that something needs to be done as a matter of urgency?

Is it too late, with Mr Llandell Mills and his people having surrendered without firing a shot, to fight to save our ­wonderful and efficient Dartmouth Hospital, which seems so very right for our remote town, supported as it is by such dedicated staff?

Is it possible, with the full support of our townspeople, to save the day by demanding that we will not be left in our remote town without putting up a good fight to retain our much-loved hospital exactly as it is?

Who might be up for such a fight – even at this late stage?