High Street Surgery

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

We looked for evidence that the practice involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last assessment, we rated this key question as good. At this assessment, the rating is good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

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.

The practice always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Care home representatives were positive in how visiting clinicians treated people with respect and dignity and confirmed people’s privacy and confidentiality was maintained. Feedback we received from people regarding the attitude of clinical staff was positive and of non-clinical staff was mixed.

During the site visit we observed staff to be friendly and helpful with people at the reception desk and when supporting people by telephone. Notices were displayed at each site to inform people that a private room was available if they wanted to discuss a sensitive issue or if people were distressed. Clinical rooms had privacy curtains. Staff gave examples of how they treated people with kindness, respect and compassion. All staff had completed customer care training.

We reviewed indictors in the National GP patient survey, published in July 2024 which related to kindness, compassion and dignity. The practice was in line with the England average for 3 indicators and slightly below the England average for overall experience of the GP practice. Feedback from the NHS friends and family test from October to December 2024 found from 2324 respondents, 95% of respondents stating their experience of the practice was good or very good.

The practice treated people as individuals and made sure care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, culture, religion and protected characteristics.

We received positive feedback on the personal service received with clinicians coming to the waiting area to call people for their appointment and having continuity of GP. Care home representatives gave examples of when people’s individual needs had been considered by practice staff. We reviewed the National GP patient survey, published in July 2024. The indicator for people being involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment was 82.8%, which was below the England average (90.9%).

Staff and leaders told us that people’s individual needs and preferences were understood and reflected in their care, treatment and support. This included people’s social, cultural and religious needs. They supported people’s communication needs to enable them to be fully involved in their care. Staff were required to undertake specific training to improve their own knowledge and understanding of how to support people. This included training on equality and diversity, Veteran Awareness, Carer awareness, dementia awareness and learning disability and autism awareness.

The practice promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Care home representatives told us people were involved in their care and treatment decisions, and carers who knew people well were involved in supporting this.

Staff demonstrated a supportive approach to ensuring people were empowered to be involved in their care and treatment decisions. Staff supported people to make informed decisions about their care, and in some cases with their carers, when appropriate. This included discussions about care, and treatment options to decide on what would work best.

There were systems and processes in place to promote people’s independence and control over their care and treatment. Information leaflets and notices were available in the waiting area and on the practice website which advised people how to access a range of support groups and organisations. People could self-refer to a range of services using links from the practice website. Staff had received training and could signpost people to a range of services, for example the community pharmacy.

The practice 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 who provided feedback for this assessment had no specific views or concerns in this area. Care home representatives told us they were able to obtain support to meet people’s immediate needs. Examples were given in relation to end of life care.

Staff knew how to respond to people’s immediate needs and how to recognise when urgent help or support was required. Staff told us about systems and training in place to support this, which included guidance and training on sepsis, the use of panic alarms, and the availability of emergency medicines and equipment. The practice had a duty GP available every day who was available for advice and support as necessary. We viewed consultation records which showed practice staff had responded to people’s immediate health and social needs.

The practice cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

The majority of staff were positive about working at the practice. Staff told us a range of enjoyable social events were held to support staff wellbeing. In addition, staff who received a compliment were acknowledged and given a gift.

Leaders had taken steps to recognise and meet the wellbeing needs of staff, which included the necessary resources and facilities for safe working, such as regular breaks and rest areas. A risk assessment was in place for lone working and for home visits. Staff had access to an external counsellor for support with practical and emotional needs and provided free eye tests for staff. Clinical staff had 10 minute appointments blocked out every month with a more senior clinician, when they could talk about anything they wanted to.