The Galletly Medical Practice originated in 1890 and was founded by Dr John Galletly when he took over the Doctor's House in Doctor's Lane, Rippingale. He moved to the Doctor's House in Doctor's Yard, North Road, Bourne, near to the present bus station, in 1897. Ten years later, in 1907, he built a house at 40 North Road which became both clinic and family home and he practised there until his retirement in 1928 but continued to live at the house until his death in 1936.

His son, Dr John Alexander Galletly, also known as Alistair, succeeded him at the practice in 1928 and worked there until his retirement in 1969. He was also Medical Officer of Health for the county of Kesteven in Lincolnshire until 1964 and also served as a county councillor and as a member of Bourne Urban District Council. He died in 1993.

Dr Galletly's sister, Ruth Finn, who was also a doctor and for a spell ran the only other practice in town from  Brook Lodge in South Street for Dr George Holloway while he was serving in the Second World War from 1939-44. On his return, Dr Finn became the local public health physician.

On his retirement, Dr Galletly's partners, Dr Cecil Sweetnam and Dr Geoffrey Smith, moved to shared accommodation with the town's other practice at the health centre in St Gilbert's Road but by the mid-1990s, an increasing population required additional staff and a wider range of medical services and so more space was also needed. Fortunately, they were able to purchase Dr Galletly's old home at 40 North Road, converting and extending it into a modern medical centre with disabled access and other necessary facilities and moved to these premises in September 1996.

The town was expanding rapidly and by 2009 there was a population of around 15,000 which inspired another major development in the history of the practice which by then had 9,400 patients on its books. This involved the construction of an additional wing at the rear of the existing premises to provide four more consulting rooms, a waiting room and additional car parking spaces together with a training suite where newly qualified doctors will be prepared for their future role as general practitioners. Other parts of the building were also refurbished including the modernisation of the reception area and the addition of a disabled access counter.

The ambitious scheme costing £400,000 means that the practice, which currently employs 33 full and part time staff and six doctors, will be able to take on four more doctors and cater for an additional 6,500 patients. Planning permission was granted by South Kesteven District Council in December and work began the following year. The project was a joint venture between the East Midlands Health Care Deanery and the Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust and additional funding came from the Department of Health as part of its £100 million national initiative to upgrade doctors' surgeries around the country.

The extensions were completed by the summer and an official opening held on Friday 9th July 2010 when Dr Colin Burr, senior partner, told guests: "We are delighted with the way the project has turned out and we now have plenty of space to help young doctors hoping to become future GPs. At the same time, we have been able to expand the surgery premises  to accommodate more doctors and nurses as we require them which will give us the capacity to care for the needs of additional patients who live in Bourne and the surrounding villages."

REVISED AUGUST 2010

AN EXPANDING PRACTICE

WORK IN PROGRESS AND COMPLETION DURING 2010

See also     Health care in Bourne     Dr John Galletly     Dr Cecil Sweetnam