The Angus village of Friockheim is like so many up and down Scotland.

Its high street has a busy shop, pubs, a café and a chemist. It’s even got plenty of newbuild housing.

But it does not have a doctors’ surgery.

Nearly 3,000 patients registered at the village’s surgery were told last year that it would be closing as no GP could be recruited to replace the retiring doctor.

The news had a devastating impact on the local community.

Pensioner Jane Easton and her sister, Helen, moved to the village because they thought it would be a place they could grow old, with the safety net of a nearby GP.

Ms Easton told STV News: “The doctor was on the doorstep, lived in the village, so that if anything happened, even if you had a small emergency or something, you could always phone her and she would advise you what to do. And that is one of the reasons why we picked the village.”

Patients have been reallocated to surgeries across the local area. But for Ms Easton – who has mobility issues – it’s left her facing a lengthy journey every time she needs to see her new GP, who is based more than six miles away in Arbroath.

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