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Statement on CQC Inspection Report 2026
The recently published CQC report on our practice identified many aspects that required improvement. We understand that the findings of the report will cause concern for many of our patients, and we sincerely apologise for this.
This inspection took place in February 2026. This was an exceptionally challenging time for our practice, following unprecedented winter demand and GP staff shortages.
Following the inspection in February we took immediate and decisive action to address the concerns raised by the inspection team. We:
- worked closely with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to stabilise services and implement improvements
- worked with Cumbria Health to provide additional face-to-face and remote GP and clinical support, helping us to clear appointment backlogs and strengthen capacity over an eight-week period
Since then, we have further improved patient access and capacity by:
- recruiting additional locum GPs
- creating approximately 250 extra appointments each week while we continue our efforts to recruit permanent GPs to our team.
- strengthened our medication monitoring and patient recall systems by introducing new processes and procedures with support and guidance from specialists within the ICB
We're confident that these actions, along with other changes and improvements to address the concerns identified within the report and will help ensure that you receive the safe, effective and high-quality care they expect and deserve from us.
We continue to work closely with both the CQC and the ICB, giving weekly updates on our progress. We've also worked hard to embed a better culture of continuous improvement within our practice. This includes weekly multi-disciplinary improvement meetings focused on enhancing patient care and the way we work.
We understand that the findings of the report may cause concern for some patients, and we sincerely apologise for this. We would like to reassure our patients that their health, wellbeing and care remain our highest priority, and patients should continue to access the practice as normal.
We remain fully committed to improving our services and restoring the confidence of our patients and community.
The Partners and management team at Castlegate & Derwent Surgery
Read our full response and view the CQC Report
Published: Jun 3, 2026