Priory 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

We assessed all quality statements in the caring key question. This inspection was carried out following changes to the practice’s registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which included a relocation to purpose built premises in August 2022. This key question has been rated as Good. The service went above and beyond for its patients and staff. Staff treated patients with kindness and compassion. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity and treated them as individuals, supporting their preferences. People had choice in their care and treatment. The service supported staff wellbeing.

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 service was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity.

All staff we spoke with and received feedback from demonstrated a genuine commitment to providing the highest level of care to the inclusion health population. We observed staff treating people with kindness and respect within the waiting room.

Arrangements were in place to promote people’s privacy. National GP Patient Survey data reflected people felt they were treated with kindness. For example, 92% of people who responded stated the healthcare professional treating them with care and concern during their last appointment, this was above the national average of 86%. In addition, 77% of respondents responded positively to the overall experience of their GP practice, this was above the national average of 75%.

All staff within the service were aware of the needs of the wider community and contributed to a range of activities to give back to the community. The service had a community-based support group in partnership with a local hospice, for people with life-limiting illnesses and for anyone feeling lonely or isolated. People could refer themselves or others through the practice’s website. The hospice had gathered feedback with positive comments from patients attending meetings.

The service also raised money through sponsored events and made charitable donations to local and national charities.

The practice supported patients who were recently diagnosed with cancer by partnering with a local hospice to provide information clinics. At these clinics patients could access specialist advice and support regarding their condition from an end-of-life specialist nurse. Patients have given positive feedback about this support.

Bereaved family members received cards which offered the service’s condolences and a bereavement support pack with signposting to available help and support. The practice signposted families to the dedicated web page for their community-based support group. The practice had a Death of a Patient BereavementPolicyto guide staff in how to support patients.

Feedback from patients who used the service was very positive. They commented that all staff were professional, friendly, helpful and reassuring and staff cared about people. The practice gathered feedback through their in-house practice patient survey. Friends and family feedback for January 2026 showed that 100% of patients were likely or extremely likely to recommend the practice to friends and family.

The service treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The service took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care.

The service had developed a reasonable adjustment questionnaire to enable people to identify and share what help and support they needed. This was available in both paper and digital formats. We saw there was a reasonable adjustments flag policy to guide staff on when to add an alert to the clinical system. There was a section dedicated to reasonable adjustments on the practice website. The practice website offered the option to view information in multiple languages.

The service told us when people contacted the practice, they ensured equality and diversity were respected, in addition to recognising the importance of adapting their communication to meet individual needs. People’s individual needs and preferences were recorded and the service adapted accordingly, for example translation services and longer appointments were made available. Staff told us people were able to communicate with the service via their preferred method, and this was confirmed by feedback from people who used the service. The service offered signposting for neurodivergent patients and had a neurodivergence resource pack to share with patients.

Staff told us how they supported minority and marginalised groups of people, for example, veterans and people from the armed forces community. The practice had received accreditation from the Veterans Friendly Accreditation Scheme issued by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). The practice proactively identified people in the veteran and armed forces community, and the clinical team were trained to understand their specific physical and mental health needs. Staff were trained in specific signposting for suitable services.

The practice had been awarded a Learning Disability Kite Mark by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) in 2025. This meant the practice had met several benchmarks for providing personalised care to people with a learning disability and autistic people. This was a local initiative started by the ICB to improve experiences for people with learning disabilities.

The service had health and wellbeing coaches who offered healthy living classes for patients. They also offered weekly seated exercise classes. The practice also offered a wellbeing walk group open to all patients, and people who were not patients. The walks were accredited with the Ramblers Society and run by a team of volunteers. Both activities promoted social and physical health benefits.

The service had identified 498 people registered with the service as carers which was 2.6% of the practice population. Carers were offered health checks and vaccinations and could be referred to the social prescriber or care co-ordinator for information and guidance on support available to them.

The National GP Patient survey results found 94% of people who responded to the survey had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to during their last appointment, this was above the national average of 92%.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff helped people and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services and could refer people to the social prescriber or health and wellbeing coach for information and guidance for support available to them.

The practice supported carers and had a carer’s pack developed with the local Primary Care Network (PCN), that signposted patients to available support. The service held a register of carers with a flag on the system to identify them which enabled staff to offer an individualised service.

The National GP Survey results found 93% of people who responded to the survey were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment. This was above the national average of 91%.

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.There was a system that ensured people with immediate needs had access to services via the duty doctor. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support.The national GP Patient Survey results found 90% of people who responded to the survey stated they felt listened to by the healthcare professional during their last appointment, this was above the national average of 87%.

The service always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff told us they were extremely valued by leaders. 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. Staff reported being supported if they were struggling at work.

Staff told us that leaders cared about their wellbeing and staff felt valued and supported by leaders and colleagues. This included a monthly employee of the month nominated by colleagues to recognise and celebrate individual staff.

Staff were supported by a health and wellbeing champion who held a drop in for staff at the practice and advertised wellbeing events on posters.

The practice held staff wellbeing events, with one recent event in partnership with the local Primary Care Network (PCN), ‘Get Moving Event,’ with staff awarded points for physical activity. Staff told us that events held by the practice were a positive experience and promoted a healthy lifestyle. Another event was a team building day at a local outdoor activity centre and leaders promoted running for fitness by completing a marathon.