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MPs' working hours

Sir - I recently wrote to my MP about the Government's plans for GPs' extended hours. I was dissatisfied with her response.

I contacted her secretary to make an appointment and was told that her next available surgery appointment was six weeks away. I was even more surprised to learn that she does not offer appointments in the evening or at weekends. I was told she sees constituents between 3pm and 4.30pm on a Friday once a month, take it or leave it.

I had heard that MPs had abandoned evening and weekend parliamentary sittings for more family-friendly hours. However, I was taken aback by how unfriendly their hours are to working constituents. It would appear that the Government does not practise what it preaches.

Dr Steven Nimmo, Plymstock, Devon