Headstone Lane 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

At our last assessment, we rated this key question as good. At this assessment, the rating has remained good. People’s care, treatment and support promoted equality, removed barriers or delays and protects their rights. Leaders and staff sought ways to address barriers to improve people’s experience, acted on information about people's experiences and outcomes and allocated resources and opportunities to achieve equity. The practice complied with legal equality and human rights requirements, including avoiding discrimination, having regard to the needs of people with different protected characteristics and making reasonable adjustments to support equity in experience and outcomes.

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.

Patients we spoke with were positive about their interactions with staff at the practice.

Practice staff we spoke with told us that they treated all patients with dignity, respect and compassion and respected their privacy and confidentiality. They were aware people did not always want to tell administrative staff the reason for their appointment request, and sensitively explained they needed enough information to direct them to the most appropriate clinician.

We observed staff communicating with people at the reception desk, actively listening to them and talking to people with care and kindness. We saw chaperone posters in clinical rooms.

Patients responded positively about how they were treated by staff at the practice.

People who were new to the country were provided with the opportunity to attend the practice to educate them on the NHS system and to understand how to meet their needs. People who were homeless could use the practice’s address as their abode. We observed the premises had good disabled access and disabled toilets.

The practice had processes in place for people who find it hard to access services by utilising interpreters and also directing people to relevant services where they may need extra support. For example, patients in the last 12 months of their lives and people at risk of developing a long-term condition.

Staff we spoke with told us they provided 15 minute appointments and longer when necessary to accommodate people who required translation and interpreting services during their appointments.

Staff we spoke with were aware of local resources and knew where to signpost patients for further support, information about support services was also available on the practice website.

We saw evidence that the practice had a comprehensive library of support and advice to aid patient independence and support.

There were systems in place to support patients who face communication barriers to access treatment (including those who might be digitally excluded). This included accessing translation services for people whose first language was not English; including the installation of a hearing loop at the reception desk.

Leaders told us members of the reception team had local knowledge of their registered patients and offered longer appointments at times more convenient to the person where required. The practice had 15-minute appointments as standard and offered longer appointments to people with learning disabilities. The practice also registered people with no-fixed abode, ensuring that they had access to health care services. Carers were actively supported.

Staff we spoke with were positive about how leadership supported them with their wellbeing at work. They said it was a friendly workplace which made the work feel rewarding.

There was an employee handbook detailing policies, procedures and expectations from the staff. The practice provided written guidance and resources to help them perform their role competently and has good communications and updates for staff and staff wellbeing.