Expert Surgery.
Local Access.
On Your Terms.
Specialising in Walk-in Walk-out Surgery
Our surgeons have years of experience at conducting surgery, specialising in walk-in walk-out procedures under local anaesthetic. We favour patients being seen in community facilities, away from hospitals, where they can be seen quickly and treated professionally.
Many people are suffering and stuck on long waiting lists with the NHS. Seeking help from private medical providers without insurance can be prohibitively expensive and we want to provide another option.
Based in the beautiful Cumbrian countryside, our practice is based in a first class low-carbon primary healthcare facility, the Carlisle Healthcare South Hub.
At affordable prices, we intend to get you seen at your convenience.
Meet our team
Dr Martin White
Surgeon
Dr Sam Dresner
Surgeon
Bells Harvey
Business Manager
Dr Martin White
I am the Surgical Director and founder of Cumbria Surgical Services, a company I have founded to help ease the increasing demand on public healthcare surgical services and support the desire from patients for self-pay options.
I studied medicine at the University of Dundee, qualifying in 1999 and have lived in North Cumbria ever since. After obtaining my surgical and GP qualifications, I have spent the remainder of my career developing walk-in walk-out surgery: providing patients with an option to have minor surgery under local anaesthetic within community healthcare settings rather than in hospital.
I continue to operate for Cumbria Medical Services where I provide NHS care in community settings, performing in excess of 3000 local anaesthetic hernia repairs and over 5000 carpal tunnel decompressions. I also provide a skin cancer surgery service across North Cumbria.
Outside of work I enjoy living in Cumbria with my family who are rapidly growing up. Watching my children at hockey and rugby fills most of the weekends, with the remainder spent either in the garden or trying to motivate myself to get back to more cycling again.
Dr Sam Dresner
I studied Medicine at the University of Newcastle, qualifying in 1993. After completing my house jobs at the Freeman Hospital, I undertook basic surgical training in Birmingham before returning to Newcastle. I completed the FRCS examination in 1997 and was appointed as a General Surgery Registrar in the Northern Region, gaining experience in most hospitals across the North-East and Cumbria.
During my registrar training, I spent two years in full-time research at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, earning an MD with commendation for my work investigating the causes of Barrett’s oesophagus. In the later stages of my training, I specialised in upper gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, and in 2005 I was appointed as a Consultant Upper GI Surgeon in Teesside. Alongside hernia surgery, my practice included oesophageal and gastric cancer surgery as well as bariatric (weight-loss) procedures. I have always had a strong interest in surgical education, running training courses and completing a postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Outside work, I am married with children, who take up most of my time and energy. When I do have spare time, I enjoy playing golf, following Leeds United, and indulging in theatre and foreign travel. In 2025, after more than 32 years in hospital medicine, I took early retirement. My practice is now focused exclusively on abdominal wall hernia surgery performed under local anaesthetic. I have extensive experience in all aspects of hernia repair and have performed or assisted in several thousand local-anaesthetic procedures. If I were ever to develop an abdominal wall hernia myself, a local-anaesthetic repair would be my preferred elective option.
Bells Harvey
I am the business manager at Cumbria Surgical Services and come from an engineering and project management background. Graduating from Exeter University in 2006 with a first class masters degree in mechanical engineering, I spent the next decade working in the construction sector designing and project managing an array of huge infrastructure projects ranging from the London Olympics to new build schools and airport refurbishments, specialising in sustainable building design and energy analysis.
Since having children I have spent time working for incident and crisis management teams supporting travel expeditions around the world, and the last 5 years helping new businesses get off the ground developing logical processes and procedures, specifically within the healthcare sector. I am incredibly organised and love a good logistical challenge!
Outside of work I am a keen adventure traveller. I have paddle boarded around the Inner Hebrides, hiked around Mont Blanc and sailed around the islands of the Philippines. I am currently training hard to get back into shape after children and have found a new passion for running and triathlons in particular!