Updated 26 November 2019
St Paul’s Practice is located in Carlisle, Cumbria, and is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide primary care services to patients living in the town and surrounding rural areas.
The practice provides services to around 36,250 patients on a General Medical Services contract from five sites:
- St Paul’s Practice, Spencer House, St Paul’s Square, Carlisle, Cumbria CA1 1DG.
- Brunswick House, 1 Brunswick Street, Carlisle CA1 1ED
- Arnside House, Sycamore Lane, Carlisle CA1 3SR
- North Carlisle Medical Centre, Eden Street, Carlisle CA3 9JZ
- Eastern Way, 1 Eastern Way, Carlisle CA1 3QZ
We visited St Paul’s Practice, Brunswick House, North Carlisle Medical Centre and Eastern Way during this inspection.
St Paul’s Practice and the other sites in the group are known collectively as Carlisle Healthcare, following a merger of three Carlisle practices in October 2016: St Paul’s Practice, Brunswick House Medical Group and North Carlisle Medical Practice. This is the first merger of GP practices on this scale in Cumbria. Prior to the merger, St Paul’s Practice and Brunswick House Medical Group were inspected in November 2014 and November 2015 respectively and were both rated as good. North Carlisle Medical Centre was not inspected before the practices merged.
The buildings in which the practice is located differ from site to site. St Paul’s Practice was purpose-built as a GP surgery in 1992. Brunswick House is located in a converted building. Both are in the centre of Carlisle. Both had wheelchair or step-free access. There was no car parking at either of these sites, although on street parking with a local residence permit or pay-and-display car parks were located nearby. North Carlisle Medical Practice is located in a modern, purpose-built building in the north of the city. Patient facilities used by the practice were located on the ground floor, and there was level-access, automatic doors and car parking available. Eastern Way is a small, purpose-built practice building with an adjoining car park. Brunswick House and North Carlisle Medical Centres had an adjoining pharmacy. Patients at the practice can attend appointments and services at all five sites.
The practice has a large team comprising 15 GP partners (three female, 12 male), seven salaried GPs (four female, three male), six advanced nurse practitioners (all female), four trainee nurse practitioners (all female), one specialist practitioner (female), five non-medical prescribing nurses (female), 17 practice nurses (all female), one paediatric nurse specialist (male), two extended role practice nurses (both female), three pharmacists, six health care assistants, two trainee advanced practitioners, a six-person management team (including the practice manager and two deputy managers), 67 members of clerical staff performing administrative, secretarial, reception and estates duties.
Opening times at the practice are 8am to 8.30pm from Monday to Friday. The surgery is closed at weekends. Telephones at the practice are answered from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Outside of these times, a pre-recorded message directs patients to 999 emergency services, NHS 111 or out-of-hours providers, as appropriate
The practice is part of North Cumbria clinical commissioning group (CCG). Information taken from Public Health England places the area in which the practice is located in the fifth least deprived decile. In general, people living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services. The practice’s patient population is similar to the national average, and has a lower percentage of older patients than other practices in Cumbria. The number of patients with a long-standing health condition is higher than local and national averages (62.2% to 58% and 53.7% respectively) and the number of patients in paid work or full-time education is lower than local and national averages (54.4% to 59.4% and 61.9%).