Niall McGreevy and Linda Moore are leading a project in Workington, Cumbria to improve access to primary care and long term condition management through better collaboration. The project aims to open a new Primary Care Access Centre in the local community hospital that will be open 7 days a week and manage same-day urgent appointments for 5 GP practices. It also plans to have chronic disease nurse practitioners and a nurse for local care homes to improve long term condition management and care of the elderly. The goal is to act as a model for primary care communities across Cumbria.

1. GP lead: Niall McGreevy
Commissioner lead: Linda Moore
WORKINGTON
BETTER TOGETHER

2. Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group

3. Workington

4. Our hospital provides a point of focus for the town and
is an excellent platform to provide local access to a wide
range of services
Workington Community Hospital

5. • High levels of deprivation, unemployment and low levels of
household income and educational attainment
• Health outcomes of a lower standard than are aspired to
• People in Workington die 14 years earlier than people in other parts
of Allerdale and a quarter of the population have long term illnesses
• As elsewhere the health needs of our population are changing.
People are living longer and there are increasing numbers with
multiple long term conditions.
• More than half of our GPs are over 50 years old and it is likely that
many of these will retire before they are 60. Recruitment is difficult.
• Patient surveys indicate high levels of dissatisfaction with access.
Challenges

7. Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund
Our Project Aims
• Improve access to primary care
• Improve long term condition management
and care of frail elderly
• Act as a pathfinder for Primary Care
Communities for the whole of Cumbria

8. • Redesign our minor injuries service in the
community hospital and open a new Primary Care
Access Centre
• Open 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm
• The centre will manage ‘same-day’ urgent
appointments on behalf of the 5 GP Practices
• Continue to offer open access minor injury service
Improve Access to Primary Care

9. Improve Long Term Condition Management & Care of the
Frail Elderly
• Redesigning management of ‘same-day’ appointments
releasing capacity within practices to focus on primary
prevention & delivery of proactive, planned care
• Chronic Disease specialist nurse practitioners working on
a town-wide basis
• Specialist nurse practitioner for our care homes,
supported by GPs working to improve LTC management
& end-of-life care through care planning, medication
reviews, etc

10. Pathfinder for Primary Care Communities in Cumbria
A primary care community is where health and social care come together to
deliver a highly organised approach to improving population health.