HEALTH visitors and school nurses will be on hand to offer medical advice to residents when a health caf opens on Tuesday.

Residents in Castlefield have long campaigned for more healthcare in the area but general practitioners say the patients are near enough to High Wycombe town centre to use surgeries there.

Now Castlefield Health Project, a multi-agency initiative established three years ago, has developed the caf which will have health visitors and school nurses on hand at Castlefield Community Centre every Tuesday from 1.30pm until 4.30pm, to provide advice and information.

The caf aims to involve the community and healthcare professionals to identify health needs in Castlefield. Anyone will be able to walk into the clinic without an appointment and an interpreter will be on hand at the start of each session.

The pilot initiative will be assessed and developed in the coming months. Courses on parenting and stopping smoking will be added if there is demand.

Barbara Ainley, community nurse manager, said: "We hope the health caf will be used by all age groups, but especially young mums, older people and teenagers. To find out more people should just drop in to the Castlefield Community Centre any Tuesday afternoon."

The caf opens on May 1, a day when doctors all over the country are closing their surgeries as part of an action to protest at increases in their administrative workload. They are also unhappy about government policies which are increasing public expectation of already overstretched GPs and an increased clinical workload without adequate numbers.

The Doctors' House, Victoria Road, Marlow, will close for the day of action.

The health caf has financial backing from Wycombe Primary Care Group which has given £500 towards the cost of running the project.

Another Castlefield initiative, an Asian Women's Drop-in Centre which takes place at the Community Centre on Thursday afternoons , has just received a grant for £500 from the Aylesbury-based Buckinghamshire Partnership.