Health and Wellbeing in Totnes & District
Currently Totnes and District enjoys the benefit of a broad range of health services mostly centred in Totnes and South Brent, with Torbay Hospital providing A&E, midwifery, general surgery and outpatient procedures. Totnes has a small community hospital that provides some procedures, outpatient clinics and community care services for elderly people, some of whom are collected on a Friday and brought to Totnes hospital where they enjoy a communal lunch and some socialising before being taken home again.
Within a 10 mile radius of Totnes there are
7 local hospitals:
- Totnes Community Hospital
- Paignton Hospital (4.9m)
- Torbay Hospital, Torquay (6.6m)
- Mount Stuart Hospital, Torquay (6.8m)
- Ashburton & Buckfastleigh Hospital, Ashburton (6.8m)
- Dartmouth Hospital (7.1m)
- Newton Abbot Hospital (7.7m)
45 GP Surgeries:
- 2 in Totnes
- 1 in Harbertonford (2.9m)
- 1 in Ipplepen (4.3m)
- 9 in Paignton (4.3 – 5.5m)
- 1 in Dittisham (4.8m)
- 1 in Buckfastleigh (5.7m)
- 1 in Blackawton (5.8m)
- 14 in Torquay (6.2 – 8.0m)
- 1 in Kingskerswell (6.5m)
- 1 in South Brent (6.8m)
- 1 in Ashburton (6.8m)
- 1 in Dartmouth (7.0m)
- 4 in Brixham (7.6 – 7.8m)
- 4 in Newton Abbot (7.7-8.0m)
- 1 in Strete (8.6m)
- 1 in Kingsteignton (9.0m)
- 1 in Slapton (9.6m)
37 Dental Surgeries with a similar geographical spread as the GP Surgeries
55 Pharmacies similarly dispersed, though none in any of the villages
Only Torbay Hospital (6.6m) offers Midwifery and A&E services
The closest Community Clinic is in Epsom (163miles away)
Other specialist services such as alcohol clinics are available in the locality, in the towns
As the hinterland is essentially rural, there is currently a high dependence on travelling for services, but for villages like Diptford that are not served by a public bus, access to health services relies on access to private transport or taxi hire. Of a total population of 23,863 living Totnes and District, 12,926 people live in the town of Totnes and the villages of South Brent and Harbertonford (8,416, 3,109 and 1,401 respectively) that are served by local GP services. The remaining 10,937 people live in the rural villages and hinterland and need to travel to visit their GP or dentist or to collect medicines.
Totnes and District does however have a wide variety of complementary and alternative therapies available. Local directories carry long lists of private therapists from homeopaths to acupuncturists. Most of these alternative practitioners are not registered and their services are not available under NHS, although they are well used.
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