Toddlers and old people left unseen by GPS

SIR – On Friday morning my daughter telephoned her local surgery about a poorly toddler. A recorded message informed her that the surgery was closed for the four days of the bank holidays. How can this be acceptable?

It is no wonder that hospital emergency departments are overrun. Rosemary Bowskill

Skipton, North Yorkshire

SIR – I visit a 97-year-old gentleman who was living successfully at home supported by social care.

He developed a chest infection. This was reported to his GP. No one visited but a prescription was sent. There was no improvement; the GP was contacted but nothing happened.

The man then started to fall down on a regular basis. I was called out to help him up on several occasions. I was unavailable one day, which resulted in him being admitted to hospital after spending hours on his bathroom floor. After two weeks he was discharged to a social services residential establishment. Four weeks later he is being sent home again.

Six weeks of hospital and residential care will have cost tens of thousands of pounds, not to mention his suffering. This probably could have been prevented by a timely visit by his GP in the first place. When will primary care be investigated and improved?

Gavin Chapman Barton-upon-humber, Lincolnshire