Rippon Medical Services in Carlisle has been rated outstanding, following a recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Rippon Medical Services is an independent outpatient clinic that provides private doctor consultations and medical assessments. It prescribes medicines relating to treatments for acne, skin conditions, hair loss, hay fever and excessive sweating. It also provides minor surgical procedures and surgical thread lifts.
This was the first inspection of the service since its registration with CQC. Following the inspection, the provider was rated outstanding overall and outstanding for being caring and well-led, it was rated good in relation to whether it was safe, effective and responsive to people’s needs.
Beverley Cole, CQC's head of inspection for primary medical services, said:
“We found the team at Rippon Medical Services was committed to providing outstanding care for their patients. The service has demonstrated its ability to run an effective, efficient and safe service, taking the initiative to ensure that processes were in place to assure both patients and those that refer patients to them, that the service can meet patients’ needs in a safe and caring environment. The service only employs two people however, they have in place the quality assurance processes that you might expect from a much bigger organisation.
“The provider made sure people were kept safe by employing an external consultant to review their policies and procedures in order to ensure patients were provided with safe and effective care. We saw that where the consultant had made recommendations for improvements, these had been implemented.
“Feedback from people who used the service was overwhelmingly positive and they felt that staff went the extra mile. We were pleased to see that 98 per cent of people gave the service five stars out of five which shows how dedicated staff are to their patients.
“People should always be cared for by services that are safe, effective, caring, responsive to their needs, and well-led. I would encourage other providers to read this report, and the others we have published on our website about services we have rated outstanding, to see what they can learn.”
CQC inspectors found:
- There were comprehensive systems in place to keep people safe
- The service was highly proactive in empowering patients and supporting them to manage their own health and maximise their independence
- Staff displayed an understanding and non-judgmental attitude to all patients
- The service responded to patient feedback and their needs and improved their services
- Access to care was timely
- Leaders had the capacity and skills to deliver high-quality, sustainable care
- There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement.
Inspectors saw the following outstanding practice:
- There was a commitment to best practice performance and risk management systems and processes. Leaders were dedicated to reducing risk and protecting patients from harm
- The refurbishment of the clinical suite had been carried out to ensure that effective infection prevention and control was included in the design.
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published on our website.
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