HOPEFULLY by the time the new Lochgelly Health Centre arrives we will find that the town is able to attract replacements for the doctors who move to pastures new or retire.

It seems that we are in a right old mess at the moment. The David Street facility is past its sell by date and we are short of GPs.

The problem is, of course, that we have been searching for more doctors for some years now but Lochgelly is the same as virtually every other town and village in Scotland, it is a problem getting them.

Until the Scottish Government can recruit maybe more than 150 more GPs the acute problem will continue.

But we have also been waiting on the new health centre for five years.

The town's community council started a campaign a lot of years ago for a replacement for the David Street Centre but while there seems to have been a bit of movement at times we are still waiting, as are the staff.

Local MSP Annabelle Ewing got behind the campaign three years ago but even her words of support seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

Certainly the new Health Minister at Holyrood seems to carry the most positive response we have heard from Holyrood so far so maybe we might get some good news this year that at least it is going to happen.

Currently we seem to be in a becalmed situation but hopefully that could change. Let's hope so.

DESPERADO,

Foote Street,

Lochgelly.