Chelsfield Surgery

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.

At our last inspection, we rated this key question as good. At this inspection, the rating remains the same.

This service scored 65 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

National GP Patient Survey data collected between December 2024 and April 2025 showed lower than average patient satisfaction with the 4 indicators relating to kindness, compassion and dignity. 73.8% of patients said at their last appointment the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at listening to them (national average 86.9%, local average 86%), 69% of patients said during their last appointment the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at treating them with care and concern (national average 85.6%, local average 84%), 80.9% of patients said they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they last saw or spoke to (national average 92.5%, local average 92%), and 56.8% of patients responded positively to the overall experience of their GP practice (national average 75.4%, local average 73%).

The practice’s patient participation group (PPG) conducted their own survey with patients at the practice. Unverified data shows higher levels of patient satisfaction relating to being treated with kindness, compassion and dignity from the practice’s own survey than with the National GP Patient Survey data.

The practice had an action plan to address the concerns raised in the National GP Patient Survey. This included staff training, ongoing discussions with staff, and a set agenda item in staff meetings to discuss patient complaints, feedback and complements. At the time of this inspection, the National GP Patient Survey had not been repeated, so we were unable to assess whether these actions had resulted in improvements for patients.

National GP Patient Survey data collected between December 2024 and April 2025 showed lower than average patient satisfaction regarding being treated as an individual. 77.6% of patients said they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment (national average 91.2%, local average 90%).

The practice’s patient participation group (PPG) conducted their own survey with patients at the practice. Unverified data shows higher levels of patient satisfaction relating to being involved in decisions about their care and treatment.

The practice had an action plan to address the concerns raised in the National GP Patient Survey. This included staff training, ongoing discussions with staff, and a set agenda item in staff meetings to discuss patient complaints, feedback and complements. At the time of this inspection, the National GP Patient Survey had not been repeated, so we were unable to assess whether these actions had resulted in improvements for patients.

The service promoted patients’ independence, so patients 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 service listened to and understood patients’ needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to patients’ needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

There was a system for appointment triage that ensured patients 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 always deliver person-centred care.

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

Staff were encouraged to speak up during annual appraisals, team meetings and via informal routes. The practice demonstrated examples of where staff feedback had been used to drive improvement. This included flexible rota adjustments to support work-life balance, additional training sessions on infection prevention and control and safeguarding, and improved communication through the use of a digital noticeboard.