Caythorpe & Ancaster Medical Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last assessment, we rated this key question as outstanding. At this assessment, the rating has changed to good.

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.

The practice had a very clear vision for the future of their service. They had developed a positive culture with patient care at the forefront of this. Staff had opportunity to contribute to practice development, evidenced through a recent in house staff survey. Leaders valued the PPG at the practice and sought their input to enhance their understanding of people’s needs.

The practice was exceptionally led at all levels. They had a clear understanding of the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support to people. They had led extensive improvements to their appointment system to further enhance service delivery and this allowed people to have better access to the service. The minor surgery service was well led. Leaders of this service had attention to detail and sought to continuously adapt how they best delivered this care to people. Leaders had the appropriate knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They had an open and honest approach. Staff felt leaders modelled the values of the practice. Leaders supported staff well and this even extended to previous staff members who had experienced difficult life events, where they reached out to them to offer their support. The leaders fostered a team based approach and encouraged self-development. We saw numerous examples of how leaders supported staff on a day-to-day basis and offered support at weekend vaccination clinics to help their service run smoothly.

The practice had a positive culture where people felt they could speak up. The practice had an established external freedom to speak up arrangement in place so staff could seek support from outside the organisation. Staff were aware of how to use this and felt able to do so if needed.

The practice valued diversity in their workforce. They maintained an inclusive culture and promoted equality for staff. The practice made reasonable adjustments and supported staff in accessing additional support if requested.

The practice had a clearly structured approach to roles and responsibilities. They were governance focused and this was well managed. They had a robust evidence-based approach to manage risk and outcomes for people. This was clearly embedded in care they delivered and benefitted people with receiving current and up to date care. Good governance systems were utilised to deliver high-quality care and treatment. The practice regularly reviewed how they delivered their service and sought to continually improve it. They regularly engaged with the PPG regarding policies to ensure they had considered the people using the service. Leaders had excellent oversight of the day-to-day running of the practice and had foresight for the future and challenges they may face. This allowed people to access a practice that functioned smoothly and above and beyond what is expected. Staff had access to policies and procedures. The practice had an extensive staff meeting programme which covered clinical concerns and shared learning. These meetings were appropriately documented and actions to be taken were reflected upon. This allowed all staff the opportunity to share feedback and be aware of any changes at the practice. This allowed people to receive standardised care from the practice. Staff and leaders held patient confidentiality with the upmost importance. Leaders were keen to develop more junior staff and they took responsibility for their involvement in providing them with a solid foundation for the future.

The practice had a positive outlook on their sense of duty to serve their community. Leaders attended local events to engage with the population and understand their needs. Leaders worked seamlessly with safeguarding teams through regular engagement meetings. The practice had built a strong relationship with the local primary care network. They worked collaboratively to provide support to a vulnerable community and received positive feedback for their dedication to the programme. The neighbourhood team had developed a dementia care group in partnership with the primary care network. This had led to a similar care being set up by another practice, based on their model. The neighbourhood team provided a vital link between the practice and local services. Leaders at the practice were very active within various committees and groups in the area and this developed strong working relationships. The practice were involved in GP registrar training and were passionate about developing leaders for the future. The practice had set up a library at both sites for people and staff to exchange books, so far raising over £700 in 2025 so far for the patient equipment fund.

The practice had a strong focus on continual learning, innovation and improvement. The practice had sought ways to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance service delivery and efficiency. For example, they used AI to enhance their workflow streams and had used it to help document consultations. Data was not stored and was deleted once processed. The practice was happy to share ideas and had engaged with other local practices to discuss how AI could be used within their setting to enhance their own ways of working. The practice worked with the Caythorpe and Ancaster Medical Equipment Trust to benefit from enhanced equipment at the practice. This charity was set up and ran by people who used the service. The practice was conscious of its environmental footprint. The practice had set up its own initiative to identify how they could improve their sustainability, including simple daily initiatives, which has seen a reduction in electricity costs at both sites by approximately 60%. The provider had plans to install electric vehicles chargers and had recently implemented a recycling system for some medical devices which people could access.