Sir,

I totally agree with Naomi Meaney's letter last week regarding the difficulty of getting a doctor's appointment at Tenby Surgery.

I am self-employed and work long hours, and recently had to make endless arrangements in advance in order to book time off for the following day to see a doctor, only to find that all the appointments had gone by the time I got through to the surgery.

I am unable to keep repeating the enormous time and effort each day to arrange the following day off, in the hope that I will be lucky enough to get an appointment, so I have now resigned myself to waiting until I fit into their category of a 'genuine medical emergency'.

In desperation, I saw a nurse at the practice, who advised me that I needed to see a doctor - but that seems to be impossible. I dread to think how much worse this situation will be in the summer months when the population increases from 5,000 to 50,000, as I understand that visitors are given priority.

We need more doctors if they are not able to cope with the present demand, or an evening surgery bookable in advance specifically for working people.

(Name and address supplied.)