Building work on our new innovative, integrated Health Centre is set to begin in July 2006 after our plans were given the green light by the Mid Devon Primary Care Trust at the end of May. 
The new premises, just on the outskirts of town on the Willand Road, will bring together community primary care services and our College Surgery Partnership under one roof.  Construction is expected to take one year. 
The proposed centre will give patients much better access to a range of health services in a “one-stop shop” approach.  This will include everything from standard GP consultations and District Nursing services, to an innovative Health Living Café and independent complementary therapy services.  There is no doubt this will enable primary health care in Cullompton to improve even further, allowing us to continue our focus on health improvement - concentrating on encouraging health rather than reacting to illness.

Under the plans, the primary care services currently based at the Cullompton Health Centre, Exeter Hill, will move to the new building.  Bramblehaies Surgery will remain unaffected.

Local Community Meeting:

The developers of this project – Haven Health Ltd – are in the process of setting a date in July 2006 to hold a public meeting.  The hope is that local interested residents can come and learn more about the project.  We would be interested to hear your views, particularly on issues of how the site might be landscaped.  We will post details of the date of this meeting as soon as it is finalised.

Frequently Asked Questions/Incorrect Rumours Circulating:

When will building start?  Our developers inform us that they hope to start building in July 2006.

Who actually owns the building?  The building is being built and owned by Haven Health Ltd.  The Surgery will be a tenant and lease part of the building, the Primary Care Trust will lease another part of the building for their staff.

How long will construction take?  We are told that construction should take 12 months to complete.  We hope to be in by Autumn 2007.

We have heard  a rumour that lots of houses will also be built.  This rumour is incorrect.  Our developer, working in partnership with us, has purchased a 2 acre section of the field on Willand Road.  No other land has been purchased.  Our plans are simply to develop a primary care health centre, as described elsewhere on this website.  There are no plans whatsoever for our developers, or us, to develop any housing on the adjacent field.  This would be impossible as we do not own any more land in the field.

Is there going to be a roundabout/traffic lights?  We are also aware of rumours that we are planning to build a roundabout or traffic lights on the Willand Road.  As far as we are concerned, there are no plans to do either such thing.  Our developers will work closely with those responsible for traffic/highways issues, to ensure that access to the site is efficient and safe.  As far as we are aware, this does not require either a roundabout or traffic lights.

Will the complementary therapy be under the NHS?  No, the complementary services will be provided by independent complementary practitioners.  At present, the NHS does not fund complementary services in our area.

What is the Healthy Living Café?  This is an innovative idea to enable us to have part of the building where we can focus on healthy living advice, including diet and exercise.  It will give us an area where we can put up displays and run demonstrations to help patients keep themselves healthy.  It will also provide a site where patients can access light refreshments, eg tea and coffee, during their visit to the surgery.

Will there be a pharmacy on the site?  We very much hope there will be a pharmacy, as this would be a very useful addition to the site.  Because of the way regulations governing pharmacies run, we are unable to apply for a licence until six months before the expected opening date of the site, so at present we are unable to confirm definitely whether permission will be granted for a pharmacy to run on this site, but we remain very hopeful that it will.