Camelford Medical Centre

We have now gone live with our new telephone system which we hope will improve the way in which we handle your inbound telephone enquiries.

You will now be presented with some options such as appointments, test results, prescriptions, and medical secretaries. You will also have the option of preserving your place in the queue but having us call you back when your 'place' has moved to the front of the queue.

I am sure that we will have some teething issues but please bear with us and let us know of your experience.

Thank you.

Ian Shepherd and Dr Salil Pande - 27th March 2025. 

Please note that we will close at 1pm on Wednesday 16th July for staff training. and reopen at 8:30am on Thursday 17th July 2025.

If there is a time critical medical emergency (which includes someone not breathing, losing consciousness, having a stroke, suffering a heart attack, experiencing a seizure, or severe bleeding), dial 999 immediately.

If there is an urgent medical concern which is not immediately life-threatening (e.g. if you feel unwell and cannot reach your GP, or if you need medical advice), please call 111. The trained staff will assess your symptoms, provide guidance, and direct you to the most appropriate care service. They might book you an out-of-hours appointment or advise you to visit a walk-in centre.

As you may know, many established pharmacies throughout Cornwall are closing. Some of them are reopening and being run by different companies but many are remaining closed.

If you live more than one mile from a pharmacy, we can dispense your medication from our branch at St Breward and you can collect either from there, or from our Camelford or Delabole.

Although we are a provider of medical care, we are also a business. In real terms, funding for general practice has decreased over the last few years and with increased costs, finances are now extremely tight for general practice. As a result, staff recruitment and retention is a big issue throughout the NHS. We, therefore, need to look at ways of increasing income so that we can reinvest in staff and improve services to our patients.

One of these ways to do this is to increase our dispensing income hence the reason for this message.

If a local pharmacy is more convenient for you, then I am not suggesting that you change, but if it is easier for you to come to your local surgery then that will be a much-appreciated show of support to us, and assist us in these increasingly challenging times.

If you would like us to dispense your medication then please email camelford.prescriptions@nhs.net and let us know your name, address, and which surgery you would like to collect from. Please also ensure that you do live more than one mile from the nearest pharmacy otherwise we cannot dispense your medications and you will have to remain with your current pharmacy.