Heathcot Medical 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

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 good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

This service scored 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The practice always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy. National GP Patient Survey data reflected people felt listened to and were treated with kindness. Although the feedback we received from patients was mixed and some patients told us they did not feel listened to or had been treated with kindness. Staff we spoke with understood Gillick competency, which is when a young person under 16 can consent to their own medical treatment if they fully understand what is being proposed. There was a process to ensure young adults had control over their own privacy and the amount of parental involvement in managing their care and support.

The practice 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 generally met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. Although we did receive some feedback from patients who told us they had experienced difficulties communicating with the practice.

The practice 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 practice 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.

Leaders in the practice told us they cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Feedback from staff was mixed some staff told us they felt valued and listened to by leaders, whilst other staff told us they did not. 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. However, some staff told us that they did not have access to appropriate rest areas. Some staff reported being supported if they were struggling at work. We saw that social and team building activities were established within the practice. Staff told us about a Surrey wide initiative they had taken part in where staff teams from GP practices across the county log their steps to complete a virtual route.