The Castle Medical Group

10/02/2026

Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB have now commissioned a service for the provision of weight loss medications, however we are deeply disappointed with the proposed provision.

The eligibility criteria for Lancashire and South Cumbria has been determined as follows:

* Live in an area identified as one of the most deprived based on the Government’s indices of multiple deprivation (IMD-1)
ALONGSIDE
* A body mass index (BMI) of 40 kg/m² or more (or 37.5 kg/m² for people from minority ethnic family backgrounds)

AND have at least four of the following long-term conditions:

* Non-diabetic hyperglycaemia or type two diabetes
* Hypertension (high blood pressure)
* Dyslipidaemia
* Established cardiovascular disease
* Obstructive sleep apnoea (formally diagnosed)

The ICB have stated “The NHS has an obligation to commission services equitably, ensuring fair access to health support for those most in need. As NHS funds are limited, we are targeting this support initially at those from the most deprived areas of the region.”

Ribblesdale Primary Care Network (comprising of Pendleside Medical Practice, Sabden and Whalley Medical Group, The Castle Medical Group and Slaidburn Country Practice) are writing to the ICB to express our outrage and frustration at the inclusion of the deprivation element as this unfairly excludes our entire PCN population from this service.

For the ICB’s official statement please follow this link:
https://www.lancashireandsouthcumbria.icb.nhs.uk/news-and-media/latest-news/policy-regarding-weight-management-medication-tirzepatide-brand-name-mounjaro-lancashire-and-south-cumbria

05/02/2026

👑His Majesty The King to visit Clitheroe on Monday 9th February👑

You may have heard that King Charles will be visiting Clitheroe again next Monday, 9th February. We wanted to give patients a quick heads-up as there will be some road closures and travel disruption on the day.

🚗 Travel & road closures

Road closures are officially from 7am, but police have advised they may begin earlier.

The visit is expected to be brief, with roads reopening by midday.

Patients travelling by car are advised to allow extra time for their journey and parking.

🚶 Pedestrian access

All roads should remain open to pedestrians.

If you have an appointment on Monday, please consider leaving a little earlier than usual, as traffic and parking may be affected.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

03/02/2026

All Practices in East Lancashire will be closed today from 1pm-6.30pm for Protected Learning Time.
This enables Practices to provide dedicated training to their staff and to discuss and plan ways that will allow them to improve services, meet demand and support the wellbeing of their staff.
For urgent medical matters during this time, that can't wait until the next day, please contact 111.
For all life threatening medical emergencies please contact 999.
If you need help for a mental health crisis, please contact The Crisis Team on 0800 953 0110.
If you have a pre booked appointment with us, this will still go ahead.
Our treatment Room and Dispensary are open as usual.
Thank you for your support and cooperation.

11/01/2026

Your pharmacist can provide treatment or some prescription medicine, if needed, for seven common conditions - without you seeing a GP.

Think pharmacy first and get seen by your local community pharmacy team.

30/12/2025

🚨🚨🚨Reception Team update 🚨🚨🚨

Due to staff illness, our Reception team is extremely short-staffed today.

We kindly ask that you only contact us if your call is urgent, to help us manage safely and effectively.

We appreciate your understanding and patience as our team works through these unforeseen circumstances on what is a challenging day.

Many thanks for your support and understanding.

The Castle Medical Group

23/12/2025

Christmas and New Year Opening Hours

Please note that we will be closed over the festive period on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

If you need urgent medical advice whilst the surgery is closed (but it's not an emergency), contact NHS 111 (call 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk)

In a life-threatening emergency, always call 999.

The Castle Medical Group wish all our wonderful patients a very Merry Christmas.

12/12/2025

Attention Patients: Our clinical system is currently down due to technical difficulties. Unfortunately, this is a national problem. As a result, we are unable to make appointments or access patient data at this time. We are actively working on resolving the issue and hope to be back up and running soon. If you already have an appointment, please attend as normal.
Please stay tuned for updates here on Facebook and on our website. We apologise for any inconvenience that this will inevitably cause. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

02/12/2025

This week is Grief Awareness Week, and a chance to recognise how any type of loss can affect our wellbeing.

There’s no right or wrong way to feel — grief affects everyone differently.

If you're finding things difficult, there’s support that can help.

➡️ https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/feelings-and-symptoms/grief-bereavement-loss/

18/11/2025

11/11/2025

Remembering the fallen and their families this Armistice Day

10/11/2025

On Thursday 13th November 2025, all Practices in East Lancashire will be closed from 1pm-6.30pm for Protected Learning Time.
This enables Practices to provide dedicated training to their staff and to discuss and plan ways that will allow them to improve services, meet demand and support the wellbeing of their staff.
For urgent medical matters during this time, that can't wait until the next day, please contact 111.
For all life threatening medical emergencies please contact 999.
If you need help for a mental health crisis, please contact The Crisis Team on 0800 953 0110.
Treatment Room and Dispensary are open as usual.
Thank you for your support and cooperation.