Constantine · Port Navas · Gweek
Equipment the NHS doesn’t fund — bought by this village, for this village
Since 1985, Friends of Constantine Surgery has funded the equipment, rooms and services that let Constantine Surgery care for patients closer to home — in Constantine, Port Navas and Gweek.
What we’ve funded
Everything on this page is a thing you can point at
The NHS pays for the surgery. It does not pay for everything the surgery needs. That gap is what we buy — and each item stays here, in the village.
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Defibrillators in four villages
Cabinets in Constantine, Port Navas, Gweek and Seworgan, so that when someone’s heart stops, a shock can be given in the minutes that decide the outcome.
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An extra consulting room
During the pandemic we bought a unit for the surgery car park, so consultations and procedures could carry on away from the main building.
Cost about £12,000
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Kit for the doctors’ visiting bags
Medical equipment carried out to people who cannot get to the surgery — the house calls that keep patients out of hospital.
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Diagnostic and computer equipment
Machines that give an answer in the room — including immediate checks for heart problems — instead of a wait and a second journey.
The consulting room we bought, in the surgery car park. It is still in use.
A picture of the surgery itself belongs here — the building people recognise. We will replace this panel with your photograph.
Why it is us who buys it
A city has an ambulance round the corner. We have a lane.
Constantine, Port Navas, Gweek and Seworgan are a long way from a hospital, and the roads here do not get quicker in an emergency. Kit that is already in the village is the difference — and it gets here because people in the village pay for it.
In an emergency, always ring 999 first. The operator will tell you where the nearest defibrillator is and how to use it.
See the full listHow your money helps
Small sums buy real things here
We are a volunteer charity with no office and no salaries, so a gift goes to the practice, not to overheads. These are suggested amounts, sized against what this kit actually costs. Every gift is pooled, and the trustees buy whatever the surgery asks for next.
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£20
A pulse oximeter for a visiting bag
One of the instruments a doctor carries out to patients who cannot travel to the surgery.
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£50
A tenth of a defibrillator cabinet
A heated, locked cabinet runs to several hundred pounds. Ten gifts like this put one on a village wall.
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£250
A share of the heart-testing machine
Testing for heart problems in the room, instead of a second appointment and a longer wait.
Coming up
Patient Information Evenings
Free talks with the surgery team, held with the practice and open to anyone in the villages. No booking fee, no charge, and questions welcome.
