West Common Lane Teaching Practice

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

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported 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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

The service had arrangements to promote people’s privacy. Chaperones were available when required, with posters displayed throughout the practice and staff appropriately trained. The provider had privacy screens at the reception desk to promote confidentiality for patients speaking to staff. National GP Patient Survey data reflected 91% of people felt listened to (national average 87%) and 88% of people said they were treated with care and concern (national average 86%). This positive feedback was mirrored in the results of the national Friends and Family test, which was mostly positive, with patients describing staff as professional, friendly, and helpful.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. Patients’ personal, cultural, social, religious and equality characteristics needs were understood and met. Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. For example, people with learning disabilities were allocated appointment times at the beginning or end of a clinic and received easy-read appointment letters.

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 patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services. The provider invited a local carers’ support service into the practice several times each year to educate patients about the local support services available for patients with caring responsibilities.

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. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including mental health crisis teams.

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, for example, arranging noise cancelling headphones and specialised desks. Staff reported being supported if they were struggling at work. We saw team building events were established within the practice.