Archived: Cumbria Medical Services Limited

Updated 16 July 2019

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 1a Lakeland Business Park 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

•Cleator Moor Health Centre, Birks Rd, Cleator Moor, CA25 5HP

•London Road Community Clinic, Hilltop Heights, Carlisle, CA1 2NS

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

•Penrith Community Hospital, Bridge Lane, Penrith, CA11 8HX

•Orchard House Surgery, South William Street, Workington, CA14 2ED

•Temple Sowerby Medical Practice, Linden Park, Temple Sowerby, Penrith, CA10 1RW

•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 and Arnside House on the day of inspection. From July 2019 the service will no longer operate from Cleator Moor Health Centre.

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 the second largest county in England and represents 48% of the land mass of the North West. Across Cumbria 51% of the population live in rural areas. There are 73 people per square kilometre on average.

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). However, this does not reflect the large variation within Cumbria itself, where the life expectancy in the most deprived areas for men is 13 years lower, and for women eight years lower, than people in the least deprived areas. 56.3% of the population reports having a long-standing health condition (national average 54%). In terms of ethnicity, the population is 98.5% white (national average 85.4%) with the lowest percentages of any CCG area in England of patients from black/black British, mixed, or other ethnic groups (0.1%, 0.5% and 0.1% respectively).

The inspection was carried out on 24th May 2019, and was led by a CQC inspector together with a clinical specialist advisor.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

•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 16 July 2019

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Cumbria Medical Services on 24 May 2019 as part of our inspection programme.

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 and;
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as outstanding overall.

We found that:

• 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 vauled 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.
• 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.
• The leadership drove continuous improvement and safe innovation was celebrated.

Patient feedback was extremely positive. Forty one people provided feedback about the service during the inspection.

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 as a result, patient feedback about care at the service was highly positive. For example, between 98% and 100% of patients across the various areas (dermatology, minor surgery, ophthalmology, etc.) said they would recommend the service to family and friends.
• At the time of inspection the average waiting time was four weeks and for some clinics patients were often seen within two weeks, despite the service setting a target of seeing all patients within eight weeks. Extra clinics were scheduled if waiting times reached six 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 available within the following week.
• 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. They were also funding a dermatology diploma for a local GP to gain more experience in dermatology.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice