Skip to content

'Incredible support' for flooded GP practice

BBC A reclining patient chair with a pillow is seen in a treatment room, with rubble and cement scattered across the floor and on surrounding equipment. BBC
More than 90 staff who serve 80,000 patients can no longer use their work place

A GP at a surgery in Devon devastated by flooding has spoken of the "absolutely incredible" community support amid the ongoing clean-up.

Dr Jennie Button of Honiton Surgery said the flooding, caused by a burst toilet pipe, led to collapsed ceilings, damage to 30 clinical rooms and a broken computer system.

She praised a wave of community support - with a raft of messages from private clinics and the voluntary sector offering help.

She said it meant the practice - which employed 90 staff and served 18,000 patients in Honiton and neighbouring villages - could only offer urgent care while repair work continued.

Dr Jennie Button, GP stands on the left wearing a blue scarf and jacket with a red jump, black skirt and tights and a lanyard, while Chris Cruise, practice manager, on the left, wears glasses a pale blue shirt, dark coat and brown trousers, with a lanyard around his neck. Behind them is a waiting room with blue chairs and foliage seen outside through the windows.
Dr Jennie Button, GP and Chris Cruise, practice manager at Honiton Surgery are relying on community support to continue urgent care

Dr Button added: "This is a really bad winter for flu and Covid and the winter vomiting virus so we do know that our patients do need us to be up and coming as soon as possible, so we are working very hard to achieve that."

Describing arriving at work on 30 December 2024, she said she found "partners walking around in wellington boots and water coming out of the surgery".

A video of the damage posted online clocked up more than 80,000 views, she said, sparking a wave of "absolutely incredible" community support.

Three large blue chairs and two small red ones are covered in ceiling panels and rubble.
The flooding has forced the surgery, which serves 80,000 patients, to close

Dr Button said they were now assessing the damage to "stand up the service as quickly as possible so patients can access normal general practice".

The surgery said patients should call the surgery between 09:00 GMT and 12:00 if they have an acute issue as they can be triaged by its on-call team.

The practice added it would continue to offer a prescription service and asked people to continue to order their medication via the NHS app, local pharmacy, or post in its letter box.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].

More on this story
Related internet links