Burn Brae Medical Group

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 assessment, we rated this key question as Outstanding. At this assessment, the rating has changed to Good. At this assessment we found that some of those areas previously regarded as outstanding practice were now embedded throughout the majority of GP practices. While the provider had maintained this good practice, the threshold to achieve an outstanding rating had not been reached. The practice is therefore now rated good for providing caring services.

This service scored 80 (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. Patients or relatives who had been through a recent bereavement were provided with support from the practice. Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy. National GP Patient Survey data reflected 99% of people surveyed who responded felt they were treated with care and concern, which was higher than the local average of 88% and national average of 86%. Furthermore, 97% of patients found the reception and administrative team at this GP practice helpful, which again was higher than the averages of 86% of patients locally and 83% nationally. Staff we spoke to told us that treating patients with respect was central to practice values. This was reiterated by patients who gave feedback on care as part of this assessment. They told us all staff were always willing to help when they could. Patients felt staff knew them and did not feel rushed during appointments. Care home management described observing empathetic and caring practice from all staff within the practice, they told us the surgery routinely went above and beyond for the residents. They told us the named GP treated patients with empathy, dignity and respect.

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. National GP Patient Survey data reflected 98% of people surveyed who responded felt their needs were met during their last appointment, which is higher than both the local (91%) and national (90%) averages.

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. National GP Patient Survey data showed 100% of people surveyed who responded felt they were involved in decisions about their care, which was higher than the local and national averages of 93%.

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. Staff were all trained in recognising the signs of sepsis and a deteriorating patient. Staff knew where to access emergency equipment.

There was an exceptionally strong organisational commitment and effective action to promote and achieve equality and inclusion across the workforce. People’s experience of the service was driven by a culture that prioritised good wellbeing through inclusivity, active listening, and open conversations. This empowered staff to do their job well and to be well.

There were high levels of satisfaction across all staff. Staff told us they were valued by leaders and reported being supported if they were struggling at work. We saw team building days were established within the practice. 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, plus additional steps, such as installing non-ticking clocks as a member of staff was struggling to focus with the noise. During the Covid pandemic, the practice printed cards for staff to show they worked in healthcare and therefore needed to leave their homes for work, to reduce the anxiety some felt at being out during lockdown. Following the pandemic, the practice had a plaque made for recognition of staff contribution and put together a programme for staff who were involved in the Covid programme and supported their wellbeing during the transition back to more usual ways of working.

There were established and proven support networks for staff to use if they were struggling, so they had support immediately and the impact on the care they deliver to people remained positive. A GP at the practice also offered menopause support for staff, including talks on the subject to help all staff understand the challenges of those going through the menopause and how they could better help them at work. We saw from staff feedback that this had been appreciated. Also, following feedback from reception staff about the stressful nature of the role, changes were made to rotate staff between reception and administrative duties more frequently, and steps were taken so reception staff had more time on breaks to eat and make drinks.