Ribblesdale 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.

People using Ribblesdale Medical Practice 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. In the main, staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent.

The practice was also working with partner agencies to strengthen how they confirm appropriate consent has been gained, with an emphasis on services for children and young people, for people based in a residential or specialist hospital settings.

People participated in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.

This service scored 82 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Ribblesdale Medical Practice made sure 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.

Plans reflected physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of patients.

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

Ribblesdale Medical Practice had an exceptional understanding of the diverse health and care needs of people in 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. The practice had tailored its services to meet the diverse needs of its community, for example, building relationships with community groups to promote the uptake of screening programmes.

There were established mechanisms for engaging with the community healthcare provider.

An example of exceptional care provision was the services relationship and work with a charitable organisation that provides support and a safe space to people who are homeless. Ribblesdale Medical Practice does not receive additional funds for this provision which is led by a nurse consultant.

All care was provided on site at the charity and offered to anyone who visited the charity during the regular and well publicised clinic times.

Homeless people who used the service had also been supported to make their voices heard, and able to influence the care provided. This was because Ribblesdale provider asked for their feedback which was reviewed and considered.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

Information to promote the up-take of screening and immunisation programmes was available in a range of languages. The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language.

Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard. Patients were informed as to how to access their care records.

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

We saw complaints were managed in line with the practice’s policy. Learning from complaints was evident and staff were able to identify changes made as a result of patient feedback, including complaints.

The service was exceptional at ensuring people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

In the 2024 NHS GP patient survey the practice scored well above the national and local average for patients being able to see the health clinician of their choice when seeking an appointment.

In response to the National GP Patient Survey data and from feedback from members of the community the provider had identified changes to improve access to the service.

Action to improve access included: providing support sessions at the practice for patients to get help signing up for on-line services; they introduced reasonable adjustments as required for patients where on-line services could not be used; the service increased the number of phone lines and increased their promotion of extended hours to provide additional appointments for their patients.

The GP partners completed or organised home visits where required.

Ribblesdale Medical Practice leaders were aware of the different barriers to access and were keen to learn from and work with organisations focused on equality.

The provider also joined charities and organisations so they could access information about how to best support specific groups of people, for example, they had signed up with ‘Doctors of the World safe surgeries’ organisation. This is a charity which provides advice, tools and support for migrant peoples. The provider was putting the suggested processes in place and training staff to ensure migrant people could access health care without needing complicated proof of ID or proof of address.

To improve access for homeless people the practice was signed up to the homeless friendly pledge and as a part of that work had developed a fortnightly outreach clinic to a local homeless support centre in Bury. People with no fixed abode are able to attend the surgery and receive health screening and treatment.

People with a learning disability were provided with longer appointments if required and annual reasonable adjustment checks were completed.

People could access the service in ways to suit their needs, for example online, in person and by telephone.

Treatment rooms were available on the ground floor and a ramp and automatic door had been fitted to the entrance.

There were sufficient consulting and meeting rooms to meet the need of the patients, such as providing additional privacy if needed.

Staff and leaders were innovative in how they listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes. Staff and leaders actively used this information to provide exceptionally tailored care, support and treatment in response to this.

People who traditionally find it difficult to access care and treatment told us that they were well treated and experienced positive outcomes, for example people who gave feedback to CQC who identified themselves as carers told us they were invited for health checks and given longer appointments in order to allow for a holistic assessment of their physical and emotional needs.

People who cared for vulnerable people such as older people and children, described how their relatives were listened to and cared for with diligence and understanding.

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 adjusted support in light of people’s experience and outcomes.

The provider had processes to ensure people could register at the practice, including those in vulnerable circumstances such as homeless people and Travellers.

We saw that staff used appropriate systems to capture and review feedback from people using the service, including those who did have access to the internet. For example, we saw paper-based feedback forms in the surgery and the feedback evidence from the clinic for homeless people was also paper-based.

People were supported 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. People described being given time to discuss important decisions about treatment and care.

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.