The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Middleton Health Centre

Overall: Outstanding read more about inspection ratings

Unit F1, Middleton Shopping Centre, Limetrees Road, Middleton, Manchester, Lancashire, M24 4EL (0161) 271 301

Provided and run by:
Hope Citadel Healthcare Community Interest Company

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: Friday 10 July 2026 to Friday 24 July 2026. Middleton Health Centre is a GP practice and delivers service to 5,348 patients. Middleton Health Centre is 1 of 11 GP practices in Greater Manchester run by Hope Citadel Healthcare CIC. Hope Citadel Healthcare CIC was set up with the aim of providing NHS services to those in under-doctored and deprived areas. They are a not-for-profit community interest company. The National General Practice Profiles states that 85% White, 6.9% Black, 4.1% Asian, 2.8% Mixed, and 1.2% other non-White ethnic groups. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 2 decile (2 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working within and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report.
The service had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. The facilities and equipment met the needs of people, were clean and well-maintained and any risks mitigated. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers made sure staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes.
People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on latest evidence and good practice. Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving services. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Staff involved those important to people and took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity.
People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and treatment. The service supported staff wellbeing.
People were involved in decisions about their care. The service provided information people could understand. People knew how to give feedback and were confident the service took it seriously and acted on it. The service was easy to access and worked to eliminate discrimination. People received fair and equal care and treatment. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. People were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.
Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Managers worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas.
 

5 April 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Hope Citadel Healthcare Community Interest Company on 5 April 2016. Overall the practice is rated as outstanding.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns and report incidents and near misses. All opportunities for learning from internal and external incidents were maximised.
  • Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive.
  • The practice worked closely with other organisations and with the local community in planning how services were provided to ensure that they meet patients’ needs.
  • The practice implemented suggestions for improvements and made changes to the way it delivered services as a consequence of feedback from patients and from the patient participation group.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • Information about how to complain was available and patients who had difficulties understanding were encouraged to complain verbally and were supported in the process.
  • The practice actively reviewed complaints and how they are managed and responded to, and made improvements as a result.
  • All staff employed by the practice had received a disclosure and barring check (DBS check). (DBS checks identify whether a person has a criminal record or is on an official list of people barred from working in roles where they may have contact with children or adults who may be vulnerable).
  • The practice had a clear vision which had quality and safety as its top priority. A business plan was in place , was monitored and regularly reviewed and discussed with all staff. High standards were promoted and owned by all practice staff with evidence of team working across all roles.
  • The practice had strong and visible clinical and managerial leadership and governance arrangements.
  • Locally the practice is known as Middleton Health Centre and is part of a larger not for profit organisation called Hope Citadel Healthcare.

We saw several areas of outstanding practice including:

  • The practice had increased the flexibility and length of its appointments to 13 minutes instead of 10 and could demonstrate the impact of this by reduced use of the accident and emergency services and positive results from clinical audits.
  • The practice had a good skill mix of staff which included a nurse prescriber, counsellors and focussed care workers who organised a wide variety of health and social care related support in order to manage and improve the health and lives of patients in need of this. They were able to demonstrate the positive impact for this group of patients. For example some patients asked to speak to us and told us of their different personal experiences of how the practice had made a positive difference to their lives. These examples resulted in a reduction of inappropriate attendance at other services such as accident and emergency. We also saw evidence, through audit, of households becoming substance free and 65% of patients had better compliance with their medication.
  • The focussed care team organised social activities such as weekly coffee mornings and craft classes for female patients, open days and boogie babies. They did this to build relationships with the patient population, reduce social isolation, help patients learn new skills whilst keeping informal contact with the practice and reduce inappropriate attendance at other acute services such as walk in centres or accident and emergency departments. Audit showed that families accessing focussed care presented 57% less often in the year following the support provided.
  • All staff undertook 360 degree feedback and appraisals that identified learning needs from which action plans were documented. Our interviews with staff confirmed that the practice was proactive in providing training and funding for relevant courses to enhance individual development and skills for the benefit of patients.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP 

Chief Inspector of General Practice