We are a friendly and dedicated team made up of doctors, nurses, dispensers, allied healthcare professionals, administrative staff, and receptionists.
Together, we work collaboratively to provide high-quality, compassionate care to our community. Welcome to Tavyside Health Centre, Tavistock - a new facility with seven General Practitioner partners, serving the community of Tavistock and its surrounding areas.
22/07/2025
🎗️ Today is World Brain Day! 🧠💡
This annual event on 22 July highlights the importance of brain health and neurological wellbeing. We at Tavyside Health Centre encourage our community to:
Practice daily habits to support brain function, such as staying active, eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, managing stress, and staying socially and mentally engaged.
Stay alert to early warning signs of neurological conditions like stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and epilepsy—and don’t hesitate to seek medical advice.
Understand that brain health is not a given, but something we nurture through all stages of life.
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Every year on July 22, World Brain Day brings global attention to the importance of maintaining brain health across all ages. This day encourages
21/07/2025
This summer, Joe Wicks is launching a new animated physical activity series, Activate, which aims to tackle childhood inactivity by getting kids moving and having fun 💃🕺
🎬 Co-created by Joe Wicks and , Activate is made up of short, five-minute episodes ⏱️ that parents and teachers can easily integrate into their day at home 🏠, school 🏫 or summer activity clubs ☀️🎨
🤝 Activate is backed by , , and as part of a new partnership to reach families and schools across the country 🌍—alongside exclusive music partner 🎶
Activate is available for free on The Body Coach YouTube channel ▶️✨
19/07/2025
Today’s the day!👩⚕️
Just a reminder that we are holding our careers morning today. We are here until 12pm.
Please feel free to pop along to hear all things related to careers in healthcare.
Looking forward to seeing you all.
18/07/2025
🎉 Careers Day is TOMORROW! 🎉
We’re so excited to welcome you all to Tavyside Careers Day on Saturday 19th July 2025! Whether you’re popping in to explore or have booked a speaker session, we can’t wait to see you.
👥 Meet a range of healthcare professionals
💬 Ask questions and get real insight into NHS careers
🩺 Try hands-on demonstrations like Basic Life Support
🎤 Hear inspiring talks from GPs, nurses, pharmacists, and more!
✨ The event is free and open to all - no booking needed to come along, just for talks.
17/07/2025
📢 Important Notice: Surgery Closure for Staff Training
Please note that the surgery will be closed from 1:00 PM today 🕐 for essential staff training.
If you need to speak with a GP and cannot wait until we re-open, please call: 01392 301516
For medical emergencies, please dial 999 🚑.
Our organisation is allocated three half-day closures each year to support staff training. These sessions are vital for maintaining high standards of care and cover topics such as:
🫀 Basic Life Support
🔥 Fire Safety Training
🧠 Dementia Awareness
✅ Other mandatory training to ensure regulatory compliance and best practice
We appreciate your understanding as we invest in the ongoing professional development of our team.
15/07/2025
📣 Supporting Your Child’s Move to Secondary School
We’re sharing details of an upcoming free online workshop from the Mental Health Support Team (Children & Family Health Devon), aimed at helping parents and carers support their child’s transition to secondary school.
🎓 Topics include:
✔️ Common concerns around secondary school transition
✔️ Supporting your child’s mental health
✔️ Recognising signs of worry or anxiety
📅 Date: Tuesday 5th August 2025
🕓 Time: 15:45 – 16:45
💻 Online via Microsoft Teams
🆔 Meeting ID: 379 847 996 671 5
🔐 Passcode: Ge3FE33U
Please note: This session is not run by Tavyside Health Centre, but we’re happy to share as it may be helpful for families in our community. 🌟
14/07/2025
🌟 Careers Day at Tavyside Health Centre – This Saturday! 🌟
Are you interested in a career in healthcare? Or simply curious about what goes on behind the scenes in your local health services?
Join us this Saturday, 19th July from 9:00AM to 12:00PM for our Careers Day at Tavyside Health Centre!
👩⚕️👨⚕️ Meet a wide range of local healthcare professionals
🎤 Enjoy guest talks throughout the morning – booking required
💬 Ask questions, gain insights, and explore exciting career paths in healthcare!
📍 Whether you're a student, job-seeker, or just exploring options, this event is a great opportunity to learn more about the many roles in health and care.
🔗 Spaces for guest talks are limited, so book your place now!
This week marks Alcohol Awareness Week, a vital campaign aimed at helping people across England understand the effects of alcohol, recognise harmful drinking habits, and access support when needed
At Tavyside, we’re here to support you and your loved ones:
✅ Know the Signs of Risk – Regular consumption above recommended limits, increased anxiety or sleep issues, or relying on alcohol to unwind? Let’s talk.
🧠 Support Is Available – From GP assessments to referrals for counselling or community support groups, you’re not alone.
Why it's important:
Whilst moderate drinking may seem harmless for many, it can still contribute to long‑term health issues like liver disease, high blood pressure, mental health declines, or dependency. Awareness week is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and take action where needed .
How you can help:
Encourage family or friends who might be struggling with alcohol-related concerns to reach out.
Ask us about local support services or referral options.
My name is Chrissie Milward and I am the Admiral Nurse for West Devon Primary Care Network (Abbey Surgery, Tavyside Health Centre, Yelverton Surgery). I have been an Admiral Nurse since March 2024. I am an RMN and have worked for Livewell for 25 years and supported people with Dementia and their loved ones for over 30 years.
My role is funded by the West Devon Primary Care Network, and I work alongside my fabulous colleagues of a Frailty Nurse, Long Term Conditions Matron, Health Care Assistant and Administrator, in the Tavistock Healthy Ageing Team. I am employed by Livewell and supported by Dementia UK, who provide my specialist dementia education, support and supervision.
My role is community focussed. I support people with dementia, but primarily their carers and loved ones, to continue their role. Being a community Admiral Nurse, I also support West Devon as a community by attending Memory café sessions and Dementia awareness events and supporting MDT colleagues across Health and Social care and third sector organisations. I am committed to supporting hard to reach community members such as farmers, by attending cattle markets, for example. I also share Dementia UK best practice/education opportunities with my wider Livewell colleagues supporting people with dementia and carers and care homes.
There is no typical day being an Admiral Nurse in West Devon – It is such a varied role. Referrals come from West Devon based health and social care professionals. After completing an initial assessment with the person with dementia and their carer or family member, they then lead on how they wish to be supported moving forward. This could just be email or telephone contact, 1-1 carers support or shared visits, mainly at home, but also in surgeries or on a ‘walk and talk’ basis in the community. Building and maintaining the triadic relationship between carer, person with dementia and myself is key and vital as we could be working together from pre diagnosis to post bereavement.
The challenges of the role are accessing support services living in a very rural area. This can be frustrating as services are either not available or are not commissioned as in other areas, or they are only concentrated in densely populated areas. Access to the internet and reliable broadband, for the people I support, is also a challenge as some services are wholly internet based.
The best part of my job is being able to make a connection with people and being allowed into their lives, hopefully making a difference, at their most vulnerable or challenging times. I offer compassion, kindness and emotional support, whilst also sharing best practice. I am so lucky to be able to be the nurse I have always wanted to be, as the role is truly person centred and led by the person with dementia and carer/loved one.
It makes me feel humbled to learn from the people I meet, who are so resilient but also so appreciative and keen for me to share their experiences to help others. I am incredibly proud to be an Admiral Nurse and of my community role in West Devon. It is an absolute privilege and honour.
08/07/2025
Tavistock Diabetes Exercise Group at Meadowlands Leisure Centre
The Tavistock Diabetes Exercise Group at Meadowlands Leisure Centre provides a friendly support network for individuals impacted by type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as those at risk of developing the condition.
Two local nurses, Lizzie Moore, a Community Diabetes Nurse, and Becky Gokhale, a Practice Nurse from Tavyside Health Centre, approached Active Devon with the idea of setting up a specialised Diabetes Exercise Group. They recognised that physical activity offers lots of benefits for individuals with both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, such as enhancing insulin sensitivity, managing blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, boosting energy, promoting better sleep, increasing joint flexibility, and supporting mental health.
The group meets every Thursday at 2.15 – 3.15 p.m. and is open to anyone in Tavistock, Yelverton, and nearby areas who has diabetes or pre-diabetes. A personal trainer leads the sessions, tailoring exercises to suit all fitness levels. New members can begin at a comfortable pace, slowly learning their body’s capabilities and building strength over time. Health professionals from local surgeries, the community long-term conditions team, and the Diabetes service also attend the classes to provide support, encouragement and to participate.
This collaborative approach with partners from leisure, health and Active Devon is now being replicated in Plymouth and South Hams. For more information on Tavistock, contact Meadowlands Leisure Centre.
Local groups in Tavistock are working to support others in their community to move more for their health and wellbeing.
07/07/2025
🌈 Tavyside at Tavi Pride! 🌈
We were proud to take part in the march at the Tavistock Pride Festival ( ) on Saturday! 🏳️🌈✨
It was a fantastic day celebrating inclusion, love, and equality — and we were honoured to stand in support of our amazing LGBTQ+ community. 💜
At Tavyside, we believe everyone deserves to feel seen, respected, and supported — today and every day. 🌟
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Tavyside Health Centre has a long tradition of providing high quality and comprehensive primary healthcare services for its patients. The practice can trace its origins back at least as far as Dr Lewis Lindsay, who established a surgery in 1930 on Plymouth Road. Stannary and Wharfside Surgeries (direct descendants of Dr Lindsay's surgery) merged to form Tavyside Health Centre in 2010, and moved into brand new premises on the site of the former Stannary Surgery in 2011.
In 2016, Tavyside Health Centre merged with Lifton Surgery before Dr Sparrows retirement in 2017. Lifton Surgery was established in the early 1950's by Drs. Charles and Mary Sutherland, who continued to work together until the early 1980's. Following Dr Charles' death, Dr Mary Sutherland continued to practice single-handed until the advent of Dr Sparrow in 1988. She retired three years later. Dr Robert Gardner joined Lifton Surgery in 1992, adding his unique brand of medicine to the practice. He departed in 2002. Dr Jonathan Carty joined the Practice in 2006 and continued working at the practice until 2015.
The practice is keen to maintain these long established traditional values of a family doctor service. The demands on the NHS increase every year, both from increasing expectations brought on by medical advances and by the political responses to meet these expectations. The service has to adjust to meet these constantly shifting goalposts, and as a practice contracted by the NHS we expect (and you expect us) to meet the demands, without losing sight of the need to be caring and attentive to the individual.
At Tavyside we work as a team of health professionals, and the days of primary healthcare being delivered by the doctor alone are in the past. Indeed, sometimes your care will be delivered exclusively by our pharmacist or by a nurse, but the service will always be led by the practice doctors. Prevention is an essential component of primary care - by advising on lifestyle and by targeting patients with specific needs, we hope to promote better health in the future for our patients.
Through education, training and regular appraisal of all staff we aim to ensure a continuing high standard of medical care is delivered. However, if the problem demands more complex investigation or treatment than we can offer at Tavyside, we shall refer you to a specialist service for an opinion and treatment whenever it is appropriate to do so.
