Richmond Road Medical Centre

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

People experienced compassionate, person‑centred care from staff who consistently demonstrated dignity, respect and genuine empathy. Staff understood each person’s individual circumstances and tailored their approach to promote independence, choice and control. Patients were active partners in their care, supported with clear, accessible information that enabled them to make informed decisions. Feedback showed that people felt listened to, valued and treated as individuals, and that staff responded promptly and sensitively to their concerns, ensuring they felt safe and supported throughout their care journey.

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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Chaperones were offered and clearly explained, with trained staff and appropriate safeguarding checks in place.

Privacy and dignity were supported through appropriate facilities, including private spaces for confidential discussions, breastfeeding and accessible communication support.

Feedback from a wide range of external sources demonstrated that staff consistently treated people with kindness, compassion and respect. The Healthwatch Hackney trends analysis report (1 July 2024 - 30 June 2025) showed extremely positive sentiment in all categories relating to interpersonal care. There were 947 comments about staff attitude, of which 908 were positive, indicating that people routinely experienced staff as warm, respectful and compassionate . The report also recorded 713 comments relating to the general quality of staff interactions, with 691 positive, reflecting consistently caring and dignified treatment . In addition, there were 668 comments about support, with 630 positive, demonstrating that people felt emotionally supported, listened to and reassured during their care . Carer involvement was also viewed positively, with 14 of 15 comments describing respectful and inclusive practice .

The latest national GP Patient Survey (December 2024–April 2025) received 101 responses. Of these, 82% said the healthcare professional treated them with care and concern, compared to 81% locally and 86% nationally. Additionally, 85% felt they were good at listening, compared with 82% locally and 87% nationally. A further 92% expressed confidence and trust in the professional they saw or spoke to, compared with 90% locally and 93% nationally. Patients we spoke with also confirmed they were treated with dignity and respect.

Leaders explained that patients were signposted to social prescribers, and that information on disabilities, women’s health and LGBTQ+ support groups was available on the service website. Staff reported providing support and referrals to specialist bereavement services, and the practice had clear processes for offering condolences and follow‑up support to families after a death. Complaints were handled promptly and confidentially. Measures were in place to ensure privacy at the reception desk, and a hearing loop was available for patients with hearing impairments.

This consistently positive experience was also supported by a large volume of positive online feedback, with many reviewers describing staff as attentive, caring and going above expectations to support them during their appointments.

The service had Veteran Friendly accreditation to ensure care reflected the specific needs of patients with a military background. Individual needs were systematically recorded and acted upon through a digital flagging system, ensuring all staff were aware of communication needs, required adjustments and preferences prior to patient contact.

Staff were trained to deliver inclusive care, including in-house delivery of specialist autism and learning disability training through the Oliver McGowan mandatory programme, ensuring the workforce had the skills and confidence to meet diverse patient needs. Care was adapted to meet the needs of a diverse population, with language support provided through interpreting services and multilingual staff, and longer appointments available where required. Targeted engagement activity addressed barriers for specific communities, including culturally tailored health promotion events. For example, in May 2024, the practice delivered a targeted event for the local Latino American community in response to identified barriers such as language, immigration concerns and unfamiliarity with NHS systems.

The service had identified 220 carers (0.87% of the patient list) and had implemented a proactive model of support led by a named Carers Champion. This included regular contact, information sharing and active signposting to support services such as the Health Hub. The service had commissioned a structured programme of four remote workshops specifically for registered carers in Autumn 2021, delivered in partnership with Sunday Care Therapy and the primary care network social prescribing service, covering mental resilience, adult safeguarding, conflict resolution and brain health and early dementia intervention. The programme was made available to carers across the entire London Fields primary care network. An inclusive culture was further strengthened through initiatives such as shared cultural events, including annual Iftar meals during Ramadan, which supported staff awareness of cultural diversity and informed more sensitive, person-centred care. Patient feedback confirmed that individual needs and preferences were recognised, respected and reflected in care delivery. The service had included the service’s proactive and inclusive approach to personalised care, alongside targeted support for carers and culturally responsive engagement such as the Latino community event, demonstrating a deep understanding of its population and a commitment to reducing inequalities.

Results from the latest national GP Patient Survey indicated that 70% of respondents felt the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to had been good at considering their mental wellbeing during their last appointment. This figure was in line with both the local average of 71% and the national average of 74%. GPs reported that they had offered longer consultations when needed, particularly to support patients requiring translation or interpreting services. We observed evidence of a comprehensive library of support and advice designed to promote patient independence. The service’s website contained information that could be translated in various languages. Staff shared that they had assisted patients and their carers in finding further information and accessing community and advocacy services. The service operated a total triage system to prioritise care for patients with the most urgent needs. During our assessment, we found that the system included robust fail-safe protocols to maintain clinical safety. Systems had been in place to support patients facing communication barriers, including those who may have been digitally excluded. These included access to translation services, a hearing loop at the reception desk. Automatic doors were fitted at the entrance to improve accessibility for patients with limited mobility.

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. People's needs, views, wishes and comfort were a priority, and staff quickly anticipated these to prevent any avoidable discomfort, concern or distress.

The service operated a named three-discipline daily clinical safety model, a dedicated duty GP, duty nurse and duty clinical pharmacist available simultaneously from 08:00 to 18:30 each working day, ensuring that urgent clinical need could be assessed and managed across medicine, nursing and pharmacy without delay. The duty GP was available to support non-clinical staff in real-time care navigation, respond to urgent patient requests and clinical queries, and oversee same-day clinical decision-making, with response standards clearly defined: healthcare professionals received a response within 30 minutes and patients within two hours. All clinical workflow tasks, correspondence and inbox items were managed daily through the service's named clinical buddy system, ensuring test results, referral confirmations and clinical queries were processed without delay and that the clinical inbox was cleared each working day.

Staff had a named, documented pathway for referring patients to mental health crisis teams, ensuring that patients presenting with mental health emergencies were directed immediately to the appropriate service without delay. The Priority Patient Scheme reserved dedicated same-day appointment capacity for patients experiencing mental health crises, children, pregnant patients, frail and elderly patients, patients receiving end-of-life care, patients with learning disabilities and housebound patients, ensuring the most vulnerable patients always had a guaranteed route to timely clinical review.

A panic button system was in place enabling staff to request immediate support in the case of on-site emergencies. All staff were trained in care navigation, Basic Life Support and recognition of sepsis signs and symptoms, ensuring that every member of the team could identify and escalate urgent clinical need at the point of first contact.

Call waiting times and response rates were continuously monitored to ensure patients' immediate needs were addressed promptly, with performance reviewed through the weekly senior management team meeting and governance framework.

A formal care navigation audit conducted in January 2026 found that 96% of patient requests were responded to within the practice's internal five-minute KPI, 100% of urgent cases were escalated to the duty GP without exception, and online consultation remained available outside core hours, with 22% of the approximately 450-500 monthly requests submitted outside the working day.

Results from the national GP Patient Survey found that 84% of patients had known what the next step would be after contacting the service, compared to 78% locally and 83% nationally. Additionally, 97% had known what the next step would be within two days of making contact, compared with 89% locally and 93% nationally. A further 84% of respondents stated their needs had been met during their last appointment, compared with 87% locally and 90% nationally.Patients spoken with during the assessment confirmed their needs had been met by the service.

During the factual accuracy process, the provider submitted additional evidence relating to how the service responded to people’s needs, which supported the uplift from 3 to 4.

Taken together, the service’s proactive and anticipatory approach, supported by clearly defined systems, rapid response standards and demonstrable impact on patient outcomes and service demand, showed care that consistently exceeded expected standards and ensured people’s needs were understood, met and managed without avoidable delay, evidencing an outstanding approach to responding to people’s needs.

The service cared about and promoted the well-being of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. The service implemented a staff well-being initiative to support workforce health, recognising the importance of staff well-being in delivering safe and high‑quality patient care. As part of its wider workplace well-being strategy, a one‑month staff step challenge was introduced to promote physical activity, support mental well-being, and strengthen team connection across clinical and administrative staff. Thirty‑nine team members participated, collectively achieving 8.5 million steps and averaging 8,503 steps per day. Evaluation showed sustained benefits, with most participants reporting increased physical activity, improved well-being, and stronger team relationships, and over two‑thirds maintaining lifestyle changes beyond the challenge. The initiative reinforced a positive workplace culture and contributed to the service achieving Royal College of GP Active Practice Charter accreditation. As part of a broader staff well-being package the provider introduced a structured well-being model embedded into day‑to‑day operations. This included quarterly HR supervisions for all staff, providing protected time for reflection, support and professional development, alongside a clear professional development roadmap to support progression and reduce work‑related stress.

The service actively celebrated individual milestones and achievements through regular team shout‑outs in weekly bulletins, recognising both professional and personal successes. This was complemented by wider team events, cultural celebrations and shared social experiences, including the hosting of a staff wedding at the service.

Staff feedback in 2026 showed that 96% of staff felt positive about their wellbeing at work, 94% felt supported by colleagues, 91% reported a fair and respectful workplace culture, and 96% felt their workload allowed them to work safely.

Staff told us they felt valued by leaders. Leaders had taken steps to recognise and support staff wellbeing, including providing the necessary resources and facilities for safe working, such as rest areas. Staff told us they had felt valued by both their leaders and colleagues.

Leaders shared that they had worked to improve staff wellbeing. They explained that the service had celebrated staff birthdays and had actively promoted a culture of care and support.

Systems and processes had been in place to ensure staff and patients had regular opportunities to provide feedback, raise concerns, and suggest improvements to the service or staff experience.