Aspatria Medical Group

Updated 31 January 2019

Aspatria Medical Group provides Primary Medical Services to the town of Aspatria and surrounding villages. The practice provides services from one location at West Street Health Centre, Aspatria, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 3HH.

West Street Health Centre is a purpose built building. Patient facilities are on the ground and first floor, which can be accessed by a lift. There is step free access at the front of the building and a disabled toilet on the ground floor and baby change facilities on the first floor. There is dedicated parking for patients at the rear of the surgery including marked disabled parking bays.

The practice has three female GP partners a salaried GP (male) and two retainer GPs (one male, one female). The practice is a teaching and training practice and teaches medical students and foundation year doctors. There is a nurse practitioner (male), four practice nurses and a healthcare assistant. There are administration and secretarial staff which include an IT and premises manager and an office manager.

The practice provides services to approximately 6,700 patients of all ages. The practice is part of North Cumbria clinical commissioning group (CCG). Information taken from Public Health England placed the area in which the practice was located in the fifth least deprived decile. In general, people living in more deprived areas tend to have greater need for health services. Data from Public Health England shows that the practice has higher than average levels of patients aged between 40 and 80 years old and lower levels of patients below the age of 39.

The practice is open between 8:00am - 6:30pm Mondays to Friday. Consulting times are Monday to Friday 8.30am to 12.30pm, 2.30pm to 6.00pm. Evening and weekend appointments could be booked through the practice.

The practice provides services to patients of all ages based on a General Medical Services (GMS) contract agreement for general practice. The service for patients requiring urgent medical attention out of hours is through the NHS 111 service and Cumbria Health On Call (CHOC).

Updated 31 January 2019

This practice is rated as Good overall. (Previous rating November 2015 – Good)

The key questions at this inspection are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Aspatra Medical Group on 7 December 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

• The practice had systems to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.
• The practice routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence-based guidelines.
• Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
• Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.
• There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement at all levels of the organisation.

We saw some areas where the practice should make improvements:

• Progress quickly with plans to ensure prescription stationary is stored securely;
• Make sure all staff are aware of the location of emergency oxygen;
• Follow up areas identified for improvement in infection control audits.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP
Chief Inspector of General Practice

Please refer to the detailed report and the evidence tables for further information.

Updated 31 January 2019

Updated 31 January 2019

Updated 31 January 2019

Updated 31 January 2019

Updated 31 January 2019

Updated 31 January 2019