About Us

What is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner?

ACPs are fully qualified and regulated professionals who may come from a variety of backgrounds (e.g. nursing, paramedic, pharmacist) and who have then undertaken additional education and training to allow them to extend the boundaries of their profession in a particular direction. This additional training is undertaken to Masters level.

At Ripon Spa, both James and Nadia are qualified Paramedics, and both have subsequently qualified as independent prescribers. James has been working as an ACP in general practice for a number of years, and Nadia is in the final year of her Masters degree, after which she will be a qualified ACP.

ACPs work alongside the GPs in providing frontline clinical care to our patients and bring great expertise in the management of acute and urgent illness, as well as developing their own caseloads of patients for whom they are providing longer-term care.

ACPs are not the same as Physician Associates (PAs), who are not independent practitioners and are not a regulated profession. Ripon Spa does not employ or engage the services of PAs.

More information from NHS England can be found here.

Our GPs provide overarching responsibility for patient care and handle most serious, acute and complex issues.

Please note Dr Penny is unfortunately having a protracted course of medical treatment and will not be able to do face to face work for some months, and only limited remote working when she is well enough. You can find more information here

Nurse Charlie Holliday (f)
RGN

Adult vaccinations, baby immunisations, bloods, blood pressure, wound care, dopplers, ECG, NHS Health Checks, smears, disease management clinics: heart, chronic kidney disease, respiratory

Nurse Sarah Corcoran (f)
RGN

Adult vaccinations, baby immunisations, bloods, blood pressure, wound care, dopplers, ECG, NHS Health Checks

Nurse Gemma Harman (f)

Practice Nurses are fully trained in a wide range of skills including immunisations, health promotion, contraception and management of long-term conditions e.g. advice on diet and lifestyle choices, coronary heart disease, hypertension, asthma, diabetes, smoking cessation and obesity. Practice Nurses can extend their skills at Diploma Level and see many patients who previously would have seen the Doctor.

The Nursing Team run various Nurse-led clinics for diabetes, asthma, coronary heart disease and COPD as well as providing general nursing services, dressings, removal of sutures and blood tests.

Community Midwives

Rebecca Strangeway (f)
RGN

Health Visitors

Lisa Anderson (f)

A Health Visitor is a registered nurse who has received training particularly related to babies, children and pregnant women. Their role is to provide families with children under five years old with support and advice around the general aspects of mental, physical and social wellbeing.

Managing Partner

Samantha Miles (f)

The Practice Manager manages all of the business aspects of the Practice such as making sure that the right systems and the right people are in place, at the right time, in order to provide a high quality of patient care, human resources, finance, patient safety, premises, equipment and IT (information technology). The Practice Manager supports the Admin Team, GPs and other medical professionals to deliver patient services and also helps to develop extended services, enhancing patient experience and care.

Administration

The Administration team provide help and support to patients who are enquiring about the progress of a medical report, test result or hospital appointment. They can be contacted on the surgery telephone number 01765 692366, followed by option 3.

Reception

Reception staff attend to patients on the phone and in person. They coordinate and organise appointments and documentation to facilitate the smooth running of the Practice, and support delivery of quality patient care. The Reception Staff have a very demanding role. They are there to assist you and we would ask you to be patient during peak times, when the staff have to handle a large volume of calls and enquiries. They will ask you a small amount of personal information about your medical condition – this information is used to ensure your call is dealt with by the correct Clinician and assist fellow Healthcare Professionals who work within the Practice to manage your healthcare and well-being.

All staff adhere to the Practice’s Confidentiality Policy and Data Protection Act 2018.

Pharmacist

Laura Cunningham (f)

BScHons, GPhC, MRPharmS IP, (Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society) (IP independent prescriber). Laura is integrated in to the practice team, helping clinicians with day to day medication reviews and prescribing.

Clinical Pharmacists

Mrs Janine Leonard (f)

MRPharmS IP, (Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society) (IP independent prescriber), She studied pharmacy at Huddersfield University MPharm (Master of Pharmacy), clinical pharmacy diploma, certificate in diabetes care, respiratory disease management. Her interests include cardiovascular, diabetes and respiratory management and supporting patients with complex medication regimes. She also mentors other pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who work in primary care.

Miss Rumaanah Khan (f)

MPharm. Rumaanah is one of our Clinical pharmacist, she qualified from the University of Bradford in 2023.Her interests include health and wellbeing of patients.

Pharmacy Technicians

The pharmacy technicians support the clinical pharmacy team by managing medication supplies, preparing prescriptions. They may assist with stock management, help maintain patient medication records, and provide medication advice.

Klara Pap (f)

NVQ Level 3 in Pharmacy Science and Service skills, Accuracy Checking (ACPT) and Primary Care Pharmacy Education (PCPE) Pathway. Klara is a GPhC registered senior pharmacy technician with experience in both laboratory and community pharmacy. Klara has over 3 years’ experience working in primary care. She is passionate about improving patient care and advancing her skills.

Mrs Helen Dale (f)

Level 3 NVQ in Pharmacy Services and accuracy checking pharmacy technician (ACPT) programme. Helen is a Registered Pharmacy Technician and has a background in community pharmacy and now joined the primary care team. We hope the relations and knowledge she has gained over the years will help bring the best care to patients.

First Contact Physiotherapists (FCP)

Mr Paul O’Connor (m)

Post Grad Certificate First Contact Practitioner (Musculoskeletal) , Post Grad Certificate in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, MA Leading Innovation and Change, Bsc (Hons) Physiotherapy. Paul is an Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner working in both primary and secondary care. With 25 years of experience in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, he is capable of functioning independently as an autonomous clinician, performing advanced clinical assessments of musculoskeletal patients in a primary care environment. Paul deliver’s advanced, evidence-based examination, diagnosis, and treatment such as injections for a varied caseload. He regularly evaluates the need for additional investigations and counsels patients on the necessity for surgical intervention, all while ensuring adherence to local health and safety regulations and alignment with trust objectives.

Mr David Jackson (m)

BSc (hons) Physiotherapy