Akerman Medical Practice

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

We assessed all quality statements from this key question. At the last rated inspection, this key question was rated requires improvement. At this assessment the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. Our rating for this key question is Good. Overall, we found the practice provided a caring service. Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and maintained their privacy and dignity. Patient’s individual needs and preferences were understood and where possible, they were offered choice in their care and treatment. The service had an active Patient Participation Group (PPG), which the practice routinely approached for feedback on the services they provided. The provider was actively seeking ways to improve the wellbeing of their staff and supported them in their work.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Patient feedback from the National GP Patient Survey (2024) indicated that the practice was performing close to national averages regarding kindness, compassion and dignity. We saw that from 125 responses, 85% of patients said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at listening to them (National Average 87%), 83% of patients said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern (National Average 85%) and 92% of patients had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to (National Average 92%). We reviewed the Friends and Family test results for September 2024 which indicated that 80% of patients found the service was very good and 14% found it was good.

We reviewed the information available on NHS.uk website. Overall, comments were positive and indicated that staff were professional, kind and helpful. Feedback received through the Give Feedback on Care form on the Care Quality Commission’s website was positive with patients describing staff as professional, friendly and helpful.

We spoke to a member of the PPG who told us that the practice took steps to promote patient wellbeing, including by introducing a book exchange in the waiting room.

There were arrangements and systems in place to support staff to respond to people with specific health care needs such as end of life care and those who had mental health needs. This included training, awareness seminars and bulletins for specific staff groups. Staff supported patients to make decisions. Where appropriate, they assessed and recorded a patient’s mental capacity to make a decision.

Staff were aware of the patient feedback provided through the NHS choices website and the results of the National GP Patient Survey and Friends and Family Test. Patient feedback forms were sent electronically to patients following every appointment. Results were discussed with the PPG and members were invited to share ideas on how patient experience could be improved. Patient feedback was also discussed during staff meetings. In addition, the practice had developed a ‘Patient Communication and Feedback Policy’ which set out how patient feedback should be obtained and monitored.

On the day of our on-site assessment, we observed reception staff treating patients with dignity and respect, and a room in the reception area was available if patients wanted to speak about matters that were confidential.

Patient feedback from the National GP Patient Survey (2024) was slightly above local and national averages. We saw that from 125 responses, 92% of patients said they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment (National Average 91%).

Staff understood patients’ personal, cultural, social and religious needs. They displayed an understanding and non-judgmental attitude to all patients. Staff told us that when carers attend appointments, they are offered health checks, immunisations and a referral to a carers' hub. The practice offered extended appointments for patient with additional needs. All patients with a learning disability had a named care coordinator and care plan.

The practice had systems and processes to ensure people’s communication needs were met, to enable them to engage in their care and treatment, and for them to be supported to maximise their experience and outcomes. The practice website could be viewed in several languages and patients had access to translation services when required. All staff had completed specific training to improve their own knowledge and understanding of how to support different patients. This included training on equality and diversity and safeguarding. The practice had a formal complaints policy and complaints were discussed during team meetings.

We spoke with a representative of the PPG, and they told us that the practice issued a monthly newsletter explaining the services available and the different types of clinical staff patients could make an appointment with. This allowed patients to choose the best appointment for their needs. The practice also ran activities to promote patient involvement with the practice including a coffee morning for patients to meet staff and other patients while also receiving a health check.

Staff helped patients be involved in decisions about their care, and communicated with patients in a way that they could understand. Staff involved patients and, where relevant, family members in care pathways.

There were systems and processes in place to promote patient’s independence and allow them control over their care and treatment. Patients were able to book appointments with a variety of clinical staff, including GPs, an advanced nurse practitioner and a physiotherapist. The practice had a social prescriber who provided patients with support to improve their health and wellbeing. The practice actively encouraged patients to become involved with how the practice delivered services, including by promoting the PPG on their website.

As part of the assessment process, we reviewed patient feedback from the National GP Patient Survey, the NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT) and information available on NHS.uk website. In addition, we asked the provider to share details of our Give Feedback on Care process with patients. Patients providing feedback for this assessment had no specific views or concerns in this area.

Staff and leaders at the service told us that they would listen to, and wherever possible, meet the needs of patients in order to minimise discomfort, concern and distress.

Leaders at the service said they welcomes feedback from staff. The service had meetings where feedback could be provided, and actively reviewed feedback in partner meetings.

The service had a zero tolerance in place regarding aggressive behaviour by service users and had support measures in place for staff when needed. The service had recently commenced a project to look at how staff wellbeing could be supported and improved. This included a ‘Workforce Wellbeing Survey’. However, at the time of this assessment the outcome of this project was not available.