THE departure of a GP from one of the family doctor practices in Richmond is developing into an issue of significant concern in the town.

The manner of Dr Tim Pearson's departure is deeply unsatisfactory because the nature of his alleged misdemeanour remains shrouded in mystery. Senior professional people do not lose their livelihoods and a degree of reputation over "a minor clerical error", the only explanation offered so far for the loss of a man who was, on the basis of the vast majority of letters we have received on the matter, widely respected by his patients.

The two remaining partners in the Friary surgery practice have declined to comment, as has the North Yorkshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), the body which contracts the doctors to provide the service. The information vacuum created by this highly unsatisfactory state of affairs has been filled by the Richmond rumour mill, a finely tuned and productive machine.

The result is the loss of confidence in the doctors - both in the one who has left and the two who remain. Patients may be worrying about the treatment they have received in the past or what they may experience in the future.

Part of the difficulty lies in the relationship between the practice and the PCT. The doctors are not the PCT's employees and therefore act independently of the trust.

However, the trust is the body responsible for the service and the duty lies with it to explain and reassure people in Richmond that their health has been, and still is, in good hands.