Millcroft 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 under this key question. The rating given is Good.

The service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. All staff we spoke with or received feedback from demonstrated a caring and patient centred approach to their work. Staff said mostly they felt well supported in their roles and that their wellbeing at work was considered. The culture of the service was strongly patient centred and demonstrated how they worked well in teams to provide a high quality and caring service to people. However, staff felt that communication should be better between teams and throughout the whole environment. Some of the patient feedback shared directly with CQC was negative but this had improved more recently.

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.

Staff said they treated patients with kindness, empathy and compassion and told us they gave people appropriate and timely information to understand their care, treatment, or condition. There were arrangements to ensure confidentiality at reception and when people were distressed or wanted to speak to someone in private we saw that there were private pods available to be used. We observed that people’s privacy and dignity was respected by reception staff who were kind and helpful. The GP patient survey showed that 82% of people who responded, said the healthcare professional was good at listening to them during their last general practice appointment compared with the ICS result of 88% and the national result of 87%.

We saw that people’s needs were assessed and treatment was provided according to their individual requirements. Of the 103 people who completed the National GP Patient Survey, 90% had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to during their last general practice appointment compared with the ICS result of 93% and the national result of 93%. People’s individual needs and equality characteristics were understood, and services were provided to meet these. Although the practice was veteran friendly, they had not signed up to any initiatives to improve the experience of LGBTQ+ people. People’s communication needs were identified and met to enable them to be fully involved in their care, with translation services and information being available when required. However, translation services had been ineffective, and the provider was making arrangements to improve these.

The service promoted people’s independence, choice and decision making so that people had control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. The practice population was predominantly White British, but information could be made available in the language of choice for everyone whose first language was not English when required. Staff were able to help patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services. Where possible, there was a range of appropriate tools to support and maximise people’s independence and outcomes such as individualised care and treatment plans that followed best practice guidance.

Patient feedback was lower than average about involvement in decisions around care and treatment. The National GP Patient Survey showed that 75% felt their needs were met during their last general practice appointment compared with the local and national averages of 91% and 90%, respectively and 57% said they had enough support from local services or organisations compared with 71% and 69%, respectively. A social prescriber was available to identify any social, emotional, and practical needs, which may impact on patients’ care and then link them with relevant community resources like support groups, volunteering opportunities, or practical assistance.

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 for appointment triage that ensured people with immediate needs had access to services. A duty doctor was available each day to support non-clinical staff in care navigation. Staff could offer a range of alternatives to patients to meet their immediate needs including emergency support, and access to mental health crisis teams. People’s needs were usually managed on the day of contact with the service. The remaining were either signposted or offered an appointment in the future to meet their needs. People were directed to the most appropriate person or service to meet their needs and ensure continuity of care where required. Members of the team had been provided with training in basic life support including the signs and symptoms of sepsis. Staff carried out reviews and monitoring for people and altered their medicines when necessary to meet their changing needs. Leaders had reviewed staffing to ensure there were enough clinicians to meet the needs of people.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. Staff told us they were 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. They said they received regular opportunities to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service or staff experiences and they said leaders mostly responded well, although sometimes they did not. Staff we spoke to or who fed back through questionnaires told us they felt well supported, during emotional work situations, particularly by their immediate line managers.

The provider offered enhanced packages for staff such as paid holidays and sickness, a wellbeing platform, and bonuses at Christmas.