Campingland Surgery

The Practice was originally formed in 1935 between Dr Robert Townend and Dr Cedric Hall-Smith It was located in the laundry room of Dr Townend’s house, The Hollies in London Street, with only one receptionist/dispenser to help them. An additional branch surgery was held in a small basic room in The Ostrich Public House, Castle Acre, but this was closed in the 1970s - it had no seats for either doctor or patients, only a basin of cold water and a towel, and a sign on the wall reminding people about tuberculosis and the dangers of spitting on buses!

In those early days, prescribed medicines were often left on a shelf by the door for patients to call in and help themselves, and the postman would collect medicines daily and drop them off to patients on his post round. It was also common practice to send medicines down to the local school for children to take home for patients in their villages. As transport to the outlying villages was always a problem, the dispenser frequently delivered medicines to ill patients herself after evening surgery, taking her shovel to dig herself out of snow drifts during the winter!

In 1959, Dr Michael Pilkington joined the practice and in 1963 work started on the ‘new’ purpose-built surgery in The Campingland which won a Civic Trust Award “for contribution to the appearance of the local scene” when it was officially opened in 1965. New doctors joined the Practice as others retired, with Dr Graham Barnes arriving in 1971 and Dr Roger Atkins in 1973. Between 1980 and 1984, Dr David Barton worked as a Locum, becoming a Partner in 1984, followed by Dr Mark Holmes and
Dr Nicky Holmes in 1994, Dr Richard Musson in 1996 and Dr Iain Cromarty in 2000. The current Partnership was formed in 2006, when Dr Vicki Lawrence joined the Practice on the retirement of Dr Barton.

The first Practice Nurse, Sue Laing, was employed in 1975 and remained for 30 years, only retiring in 2005.

The number of staff is currently twenty four, reflecting the great changes and increased workload within the Practice and the NHS in general in recent years.

In 2001/2002, major renovations and modernisation of our 1960s building were undertaken, resulting in the bright, airy and much improved surgery we have today.