Harewood Medical Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that the service met people’s needs, and that staff treated people equally and without discrimination.

At our last assessment, we rated this key question as good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Harewood Medical Practice ensured that people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Care plans reflected physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of patients including those related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act.

Our review of clinical records showed patients were supported to understand their condition and were involved in planning for their care needs. They were also involved in decisions about their care.

Harewood Medical Practice had an exceptional understanding of the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

We saw the practice worked in partnership with other services to meet the needs of its patient population and had tailored its services to meet the diverse needs of the local community some of whom were military families or of Afghan or Nepalese origin.

A specific example of this was the work the practice had completed to support the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), a government initiative designed to support and relocate Afghan citizens who had worked with or alongside British forces in Afghanistan during recent conflicts.

Harewood Medical Practice was the only practice in Richmondshire to take these refugees and during 2024 and 2025 around 379 new patients were registered with the practice under the scheme, many of whom had complex health needs.

In order to deal with this cohort of patients the practice had appointed a lead clinician and worked closely with a multidisciplinary working group which included the Integrated Care Board, local council and educational establishments, the Refugee Council, police, and Ministry of Defence. The practice had also developed a policy and working protocols for the initial screening and follow-ups for these patients; allocated more time for longer consultations; and used interpreter services to ensure the patients fully understood their treatment and were able to ask questions.

As a result of this work Harewood Medical Practice was made an example of good practice and received an honorary medal for the difference they had made to the lives of the Afghan refugees, many of whom remain registered with the practice.

Harewood Medical Practice supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to meet individual needs.

The practice website was available in multiple languages and staff had access to interpreter services. We saw during our visit that there was some signage in the practice in Nepalese. We also heard how documents had been translated for the Nepalese and Afghan patient population and how avatars had been used to ensure that these documents were easily understood.

Arrangements were in place to ensure compliance with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS). This standard sets out how NHS and adult social care services should identify, record, flag, share, meet and review people’s information and communication needs.

Patients were informed via the practice’s website as to how to access their care records.

Although results from the National GP Patient Survey showed that the percentage of patients who knew what the next step would be after contacting the practice was slightly lower than local and national averages, the percentage of patients who knew what the next step would be within 2 days of contacting the practice, was slightly higher than average at 94% (local and national average 93%).

Harewood Medical Practice made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment, and support. It involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

For example, people could provide feedback or complain online via their website, by email, letter or verbally. People were also encouraged to give feedback online, through the NHS Friends and Family Test and there was a suggestions box in the reception area, located alongside posters with links to the NHS app and CQC’s ‘Give Feedback on Care’ Form.

Complaints were managed in line with the practice’s complaints policy and compliments were logged and shared with staff. Learning from complaints was evident and staff were able to identify changes made because of patient feedback, including complaints.

The practice had re-launched their Patient Participation Group (PPG) in September 2025 and now held regular, quarterly meetings with them. Minutes of these meetings showed that the PPG had been fully updated on the planned move to the new Catterick Integrated Care Centre (CICC), on changes to the practice’s appointment booking system and on the introduction of the Patient POD (a device installed in the practice which enables contactless monitoring of blood pressure, height, weight, body mass index and lifestyle information).

A member of the PPG confirmed in feedback to the CQC that the “practice engages with its PPG via regular emails and meetings as required” and “involves the PPG members and actively seeks their input.”

We saw during our assessment that the minutes of the last PPG meeting were included on a noticeboard in reception, alongside information leaflets on the PPG and details of how to get involved.

Details of the new CICC were also included on the noticeboard and TV screens in the reception area were showing a video which the practice had produced which provided further details of the new premises to patients.

The practice had also produced a quarterly newsletter for patients which kept them up to date on developments at the practice and, when total triage was introduced, a leaflet was designed for patients which clearly outlined how the new appointment booking system would work.

The practice had also held drop-in sessions and an information event for patients prior to the introduction of total triage and included information about this change on their website and social media platforms.

Harewood Medical Practice ensured that people could access the care, support, and treatment they needed, when they needed it.

The practice was open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and, between 6pm and 6:30pm, appointments were covered by the Out of Hours GP Service located in the same building.

Outside of surgery hours, an enhanced access service was available for patients via Better Access (part of Heartbeat CIC) on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, all day Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Extended access appointments were available at Harewood Medical Practice as well as 3 other locations within a 16-mile radius.

Harewood Medical Practice had introduced a ‘total triage’ system for booking appointments in October 2025 with the aim of ensuring that every patient gets the right care, at the right time, by the right medical professional. If a patient now has a medical issue, they are encouraged to go to the website and submit an online form. Alternatively, if patients cannot do this, they can still phone the practice from 8am and a receptionist will complete the form on their behalf. Patients can also come into the practice, where a receptionist will assist them in completing a form.

All forms submitted are reviewed by a duty clinician who then decides on the next step and patients receive details of next steps the same day.

Initial patient feedback on total triage has generally been positive with comments covering how simple and convenient the system was to use; how it had reduced long phone queues and the need to call at 8am to book an appointment; and how patients with urgent care needs had been seen in a timely manner.

Feedback received via the National GP patient survey was also generally positive regarding access with, for example, 88% of patients responding positively to their overall experience of contacting the practice, significantly above the local average of 72% and national average of 70%.

The percentage of respondents who responded positively to how easy it was to contact their GP practice on the phone was also significantly higher than the 53% local and national average at 68%.

77% of respondents stated that they felt that they waited the right amount of time for their last general practice appointment (local average 69% and national average 67%).

Access within the practice was good with treatment rooms located on the ground floor and an automatic door in place at the entrance.

Accessible parking was available on site and a hearing loop was in place at reception.

Home visits were available for those assessed as not being able to attend the practice, providing continuity of care to these patients.

Staff and leaders at Harewood Medical Practice actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support, and treatment in response to this.

The majority of feedback provided by people using the service, both to the practice as well as to CQC, was positive.

Staff treated people equally and without discrimination. Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving people’s experience and worked with local organisations, including within the voluntary sector, to address any local health inequalities. Staff understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and made adjustments to support equity in people’s experience and outcomes.

The practice had processes to ensure people could register at the surgery, including those in vulnerable circumstances. They did not refuse to register patients who were unable to provide identification or a fixed address and no patients had been refused registration in the 3 months prior to our assessment.

The practice was an Armed Forces Veteran Friendly Accredited GP practice. This meant that there was a clinical lead for veteran health who undertook regular training to better understand the needs of veterans and support veterans to access dedicated health services.

Harewood Medical Practice supported people to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Our records review showed people were supported to consider their wishes for their end-of-life care, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This information was shared with other services when necessary.

Five patient records were reviewed where a ReSPECT (recommended summary plan for emergency care and treatment) form was in place. All patients were flagged appropriately on the patient’s clinical record following notification of the decision. Where ReSPECT forms had been completed by practice staff, a copy was held on the patient’s clinical record as per best practice.