Winnersh

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 service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This is the first inspection for this service since its registration with CQC. This key question has been rated as Requires improvement.

This service scored 60 (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 treated people with kindness, empathy, and compassion, and respected their privacy and dignity. Patient feedback received by CQC was mixed with some patients reporting feeling dismissed by staff, while others described staff as attentive and professional. However, patient feedback collected by the service was positive. Most staff told us that colleagues treated one another with kindness and respect, although some staff shared experiences where they did not feel this was the case. Recent staff surveys carried out by the service highlighted that most staff felt supported and that their contributions were valued. Leaders in the service told us they promoted a culture of respect and compassion, however this was not consistently experienced across all interactions.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. People were able to choose appointments at times that suited them.

Any allergies were recorded on each clinical record. Staff received training in equality and diversity. Patients identified as requiring additional support were given longer appointments, allowing conversation at a slower pace to capture information to support the assessment.

The service promoted people’s independence by ensuring they understood their rights and had choice and control over their care, treatment, and wellbeing.We found that there was support to make a choice of appropriate treatment during the initial consultation with the specialist doctor. However, when requesting repeat prescriptions patients were encouraged to choose from a wide range of CBPMs with minimal guidance and without further specialist input. When patients were first accepted into the service, they received a welcome guide containing a range of information about CBPMs.

The service also supported patients in accessing advocacy services, helping them to make informed decisions and feel empowered throughout their care journey.

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views, and wishes. It operated a patient portal that allowed individuals to book appointments and request repeat prescriptions. Staff we spoke with were familiar with the process for referring patients to emergency support services, including mental health crisis teams. Patients were advised that in the event of a medical emergency, they should contact the appropriate NHS service immediately either NHS 111 or 999.

Leaders in the service told us that staff wellbeing was a priority and we saw that they had undertaken a staff engagement survey. Leaders acknowledged there were areas for improvement and described changes they had made based on staff feedback, such as improved induction processes. They also told us that there was a project in place to address further improvements which had been identified, such as further developing induction processes and developing bespoke IT systems. While some staff described feeling well supported and told us reasonable adjustments had been made to accommodate their needs, others shared experiences of struggling with their wellbeing. For example, some staff reported that their workload prevented them from taking appropriate screen breaks.