A Penrith GP is taking over as the chairperson of Cumbria’s out of hours primary care service.
Cumbria Health on Call (CHoC) has announced the appointment of Dr Rachel Preston.
Dr Preston moved to Cumbria from Sheffield 16 years ago to be closer to the Lake District. She joined a family GP practice in Penrith and has worked with the team there to develop and continuously improve their service, now rated as outstanding by the CQC.
Dr Preston also worked for NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group and sat on the governing body as a GP clinical representative.
Susan Blakemore, CHoC chief executive said: “I am delighted to announce that Dr Rachel Preston is the new chairperson of CHoC. Dr Preston brings a wealth of experience following her years working in primary care, both as a GP and as part of the Clinical Commissioning Group. This is underpinned by her passion for providing high quality compassionate care and she continuously strives to improve the experience and outcomes for patients.
“We look forward to working with Dr Preston as CHoC look towards the future of healthcare in Cumbria.”
Dr Preston said: “Having spent the last 16 years here in Cumbria, working in Penrith, I have seen many changes and understand first-hand the challenges the local health care system faces. CHoC is an exemplary organisation across Cumbria and I have observed its growth and continued improvement over the years I have worked here.
“I share the CHoC values, and admire the way these are expressed by the CHoC team and the positive impact that has on people accessing the CHoC service. This is reflected in the ‘Outstanding’ CQC rating received by the service and something that I experience on a daily basis with my own patients, the confidence they have in CHoC and the quality of care they receive.
“I have a great passion for enabling people to achieve their potential and truly believe that happy staff means happy and healthier patients. I am extremely honoured to be appointed as the new Chair Person of CHoC and I look forward to working with the CHoC team, ensuring Cumbrian people have access to the right care, at the right time in the right place.”
Dr Preston took over the role on 1 October 2018.
