Cumbria Medical Services Limited

Updated 19 December 2022

Cumbria Medical Services Limited is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services to patients in Cumbria. The service is run by a team of GPs with specialist interest in minor surgery, dermatology and ophthalmology, supported by consultants.

The service is operated from a head office located at Cockermouth Community Hospital and provides services from within the following sites across the county:

• Arnside House, Sycamore Lane, Carlisle, CA1 3SR

• Cockermouth Community Hospital, Isel Rd, Cockermouth, CA13 9HT

• Keswick Community Hospital, Crosthwaite Rd, Keswick, CA12 5PH

• St. Paul’s Medical Centre, St. Paul’s Square, Carlisle, CA1 1DG

• Workington Community Hospital, Park Lane, Workington, CA14 2RW

• Victoria Cottage Hospital, Ewanrigg Rd, Maryport, CA15 8EJ

We visited the head office in Cockermouth.

Under NHS contract the service provides a range of minor surgery, ophthalmology and dermatology services, such as hernia repair, vasectomy, carpal tunnel surgery and removal and diagnosis of skin lesions. Patients are seen at the site of their choice (where possible) following referral by their GP.

Cumbria is a largely rural county, with 51% of the population living in rural areas. In terms of patient population, there are above average numbers for all age groups over 50 and below average for all groups below 45. Average life expectancy for both males and females is close to the national average (males 78.6 years, females 82.2, compared to the national average of 78.9 and 82.8 respectively).

How we inspected this service:

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected.
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services.
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

• Is it safe?

• Is it effective?

• Is it caring?

• Is it responsive to people’s needs?

• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 19 December 2022

This service is rated as Outstanding overall.

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Outstanding

Are services well-led? – Outstanding

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Cumbria Medical Services on 8 November 2022 in line with our inspection priorities. This is the first time we have rated the service being provided from this address.

Cumbria Medical Services Limited is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services to patients in Cumbria.

Our key findings were:

• The service provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs. Outcomes for people who used the service were consistently good.
• People were truly respected and valued as individuals and were empowered partners in their care. Feedback from people who used the service was continually positive about the way staff treated people.
• The leadership drove continuous improvement and safe innovation was celebrated.
• Services were tailored to meet the needs of individual patients. They were delivered in a flexible way that ensured choice and continuity of care.
• The way the service was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. There was strong collaboration across all staff and a common focus on engaging with patients and other services to improve quality of care and people’s experiences.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice:

• People who used the service were active partners in their care and were consulted at each stage about where and when they would like to be seen. Patients told us they felt reassured and cared for by all staff at the service. As a result, patient feedback about care at the service was highly positive.
• Due to the difficulties experienced in recruiting doctors in Cumbria, the service offered a bursary to local students who wanted to study medicine in order to encourage more people from Cumbria to train as medical professionals. Three people had taken advantage of this scheme this year with 4 accessing it in 2021. They were also funding a dermatology diploma for a local GP to gain more experience in dermatology. In addition, a practice nursed had received the necessary training and mentorship to carry out minor operations.
• At the time of inspection, the average waiting time was 4 weeks and for some clinic’s patients were often seen within 2 weeks, despite the service setting a target of seeing all patients within 8 weeks. Extra clinics were scheduled if waiting times reached 6 weeks, or if patients would have to travel too far to attend. We checked appointment availability during the inspection and saw that there were dermatology and minor surgery appointments times kept free in order to provide flexibility and urgent appointments.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSC DCH FRCA

Chief inspector of Hospitals and interim Chief Inspector of General Practice