WE have been made aware that several patients have been told that the popular combined child and mother Wednesday afternoon clinics at Marshfield Road surgery, in Chippenham, will come to an end and that there will be no health visitor service to our patients.

This is not true. We shall be continuing to have a free Panda Club for our mothers (and fathers) and their toddlers from 2pm to 4pm each Wednesday at which the little ones will be able to play and their parents meet.

During the afternoon we will be running our child immunisation service, and a doctor will be seeing expectant mothers and doing child health and maternal post natal checks.

In addition a children's specialist nurse practitioner will run a drop-in advice clinic to deal with problems and weigh the babies.

We have been assured that a health visitor will also be available to talk to anyone that wishes to see them.

There have been protests from some of our patients that they were asked to go to the old health clinic in Goldney Avenue for periodical checks when the midwives handed over to health visitor care.

We share our patients' dislike for this out-of-the-way venue, and understand their wish to have a one stop service where their records are available and prescriptions, immunisations and advice can be found under one roof.

We share their concern that they are being asked to take their children to a building so heavily contaminated with dangerous structural asbestos.

There is no need for anyone to go to Goldney Avenue Clinic.

If you telephone and ask the health visitor you can even arrange to have your welfare milk delivered to the surgery or your home.

DR B J WILLIAMS

Marshfield Road Surgery

Chippenham