Buckfastleigh Medical Centre

03/03/2026

February's figures are in.

The number of appointments that were not attended in February are the lowest we have seen for a couple of years, the last time we had less than 53 appointments missed was in January 2022. Please keep letting us know if you are unable to attend your appointment. You can do this on your NHS app, through the link in your appointment reminder or by calling the practice.

27/02/2026

📢 Important Update: How You’ll Be Invited to Your Annual Reviews📢

We’ve made some changes to how we invite patients for their annual health reviews. Here’s what you need to know:

• You will now be invited 12 months* after your last annual review. This means your review may no longer fall in your birth month, depending on when your last review took place. For most, their review will still happen in their birth month.

•You will receive:
1 initial invitation by text message and 1 repeat message if you haven’t responded or had your review.

Please be aware that you may receive more than one invitation message if you are due for more than one review.

For those who we do not have a mobile number for, they will still be contacted by letter.

*If your medication or conditions require you to be reviewed sooner that 12 months (i.e every 3 or 6 months) you will still be called in line with this)

23/02/2026

📢📢Staff training tomorrow📢📢

Dear Patients

The practice will be closed for staff training Tuesday 24th February 2026 from 12:30.

If your situation is life threatening, please ring 999. For urgent primary care issues that cannot wait until the surgery reopens, please ring 111 and you will be transferred to the urgent care service who will signpost you to the correct service.

The surgery will re-open 08:00 Wednesday 25th February. Thank you

23/02/2026

🌱 Could you get help with healthy food for your family?

If you’re pregnant or have a child under 4, you might be eligible for the NHS Healthy Start scheme 💛

You could receive a pre-paid card every 4 weeks to spend on essentials like milk, fruit & veg, pulses and infant formula — plus free vitamins for mums and little ones.

👉 Check if you’re eligible and apply today:
https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/

A small step that can make a big difference 🌞🥕

Get help to buy food and milk Get help to buy food and milk(the Healthy Start scheme) What is Healthy Start? If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk. If you’re eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with...

23/02/2026

✨ Save money on your NHS prescriptions! ✨

Did you know you can get a Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) to make your NHS meds cheaper? If you live in England, a PPC covers all your prescriptions for a set period — no matter how many you need!

💊 How it works:

A 3-month PPC costs £32.05

A 12-month PPC costs £114.50

💡 This could save you money if you regularly need 4 or more prescription items over 3 months — or 12 or more over a year!

📆 You can even pay for a 12-month certificate in monthly instalments.

👉 Get yours online or by phone:
Visit the official NHS PPC order service https://www.gov.uk/get-a-ppc or call 0300 330 1341 to buy and start saving today.

NHS Business Services Authority contact number for ordering prepaid prescriptions for 3 or 12 months at a cheaper rate than single prescriptions

10/02/2026

📣Drop-in cervical screening (smear) test clinic. If you can't attend your GP for a smear test we have a weekly drop-in clinic - no need to book ahead.
EXETER, and PLYMOUTH.

EXETER : Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital (RD&E):
When: Every Tuesday, 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.
Where: Clinic 2, Centre for Women's Health, Level 1.
Please call ahead on Tuesdays to check that the clinic is running
☎️01271322722.

PLYMOUTH: Derriford Hospital
When: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM First TUESDAY of every MONTH.
Where: The Lancaster Suite, Maternity, Level 5.

06/02/2026

📢 BBC News: Important Update About Statins 🫀

You may have seen the latest BBC article today about statins and their safety — we wanted to share a quick summary to help you make sense of it. 👉

💊 What the new research shows:
• A major new study has found that most side-effects commonly linked to statins are not actually caused by the drugs. This includes things like memory problems, depression, sleep issues and many other symptoms often listed on medication leaflets.

❤️ Why that matters for your health:
• Statins are proven to reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, strokes and death from heart disease — especially in people at higher risk due to age, cholesterol levels or other health issues.

• The research confirms that the benefits of statins far outweigh the risks for most patients, and that fear of side effects should not be the reason to stop or avoid treatment without talking to your prescriber first

Your heart health matters ❤️

👉 Read the BBC article here:
📎

The results, in The Lancet journal, come from trials involving more than 120,000 people comparing statins with a dummy drug or placebo.

04/02/2026

📱 Did you know you can access NHS services online – anytime, anywhere?

With the National Health Service App, you can quickly and securely:

✅ Order repeat prescriptions
✅ Book and manage appointments
✅ View parts of your health record
✅ Check test results and messages
…and more!

You can use these services either through the NHS App or by logging in on the NHS website — whatever works best for you.

👉 Already have an account? Simply log in.
👉 Don’t have one yet? You can create an account in just a few minutes.

Get started here:
🔗 https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/account/

✨ Take control of your healthcare today — sign up and stay connected to your NHS care, all in one place.

Feel free to like, share, and tag someone who might find this helpful 💙

04/02/2026

🤧 Feeling unwell with a cough, sore throat, runny nose or shortness of breath?
🧪 This winter, our practice is part of the Take a Test UK (TATUK) self-swabbing programme. If you develop respiratory symptoms, you can request a free home testing kit.
You can request a kit if:
• You have respiratory symptoms (cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath)
• Your symptoms started within the last 7 days
How to request your free kit:
🔗 Visit https://takeatestuk.com/ and enter voucher code L83070
📽️ For information and videos about the self-swabbing process please visit: https://takeatestuk.com/phe-home/
📄 For more details about the study and patient info please visit:
https://orchid.phc.ox.ac.uk/surv.../information_for_patients

03/02/2026

We have had a busy first month of the year.

Please do remember to let us know if you are unable to attend your appointment. You can cancel your appointment by calling the surgery, using the NHS app or by using the link in your appointment reminder message.

02/02/2026

📢Calling all Buckfastleigh Medical Centre patients! 📢

Your GP surgery needs you!

The Patient Participation Group (PPG) is made up of patient volunteers and exists to represent the patient body, help patient engagement, improve surgery services, and the patient experience.

Any Buckfastleigh Medical Centre Patient is encouraged to join and take an active role in influencing the surgery and their healthcare.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 11th February.

Please email us @ buckfastleigh.ppg@nhs.net

28/01/2026

Tomorrow, 29th January 2026, we will be having new entrance doors fitted to the Medical Centre.

We will remain open as usual, however, patients will be directed through a side door to enter the building. Please follow the diversion signs.

As part of the building works, some of the car park will be coned off to allow for the building works to take place, therefore, there will be reduced car parking spaces. Please do allow time for your appointment should you need to find parking off site.

We have tried to keep disruption to a minimum during these essential works. Thank you.