Ampleforth Surgery Also known as Ampleforth & Hovingham Surgeries

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

We looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

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

The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to Good governance.

This service scored 85 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. We saw examples of this during our review of patient clinical records. One example related to the way the practice care-coordinator offered care to patients with cancer and how the GP’s provided their personal numbers for patients nearing end-of-life. The provider recognised inequities in end-of-life care locally and put measures in place to manage these inequities.

Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Feedback from patients to CQC was exceptionally positive.

National GP Patient Survey data reflected people felt listened to and were treated with care and concern (98% compared with the national average of 86%). Friends and Family data for the month of September reflected this view with most patients commenting on all staff being kind, caring, helpful, efficient, excellent and good listeners.

Staff we spoke with understood Gillick competency and there was a process to ensure young adults had control over their own privacy and the amount of parental involvement in managing their care and support.

The service treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Patient feedback was extremely positive about the way they were treated.

Patients’ personal, cultural, social, religious and equality characteristics needs were understood and met. Examples showed positive outcomes for people in line with this. One example we found to be commended was the cancer care and support that was noted in patient records.

Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Staff helped patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services.

The percentage of respondents to the GP patient survey who stated that during their last appointment they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment was 100% compared to England average of 91%.

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern, or distress.

There was a system for appointment triage that ensured people with immediate needs had access to services. There was a system for ensuring those requiring urgent referrals or an urgent appointment to discuss results of tests were in place. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including mental health crisis teams.

The National GP Patient Survey showed that 94% of patients described their overall experience of contacting the practice as good. This was significantly higher than the local average of 70% and national average of 72%.

Results were equal to local and national averages for patients knowing what the next step would be within two days of contacting their GP practice, with 94% of patients confirming that they were compared to the average of 93%. 99% of patients knew what the next step would be after contacting their GP practice, compared to the national average of 83% and local average of 86%.

Feedback received by CQC highlighted several positive cases of patients being able to see or speak to a clinician quickly, often on the same day. There was also a lot of positive feedback about staff attitude.

The service always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff told us they were valued by leaders. They described a working environment where everyone had time for each other no matter what their role. They described an excellent leadership who focussed on the wellbeing of staff. We were told of the exceptional support provided by leaders following an arson attack on the practice in August 2023 and the recognition of the long-term impact this event may have had on staff. Staff described other times where they had received support and adjustments been made to their working arrangements to enable them to continue in their role.

We observed the necessary resources and facilities for safe working, such as regular breaks and rest areas. Social events were established within the practice.