Valley Road 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 assessment, we rated this key question as Good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.
 

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.
Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy. National GP Patient Survey data reflected people felt listened to and were treated with kindness. For example, 100% of people said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern during their last appointment, compared to the local average of 84% and national average of 86%. Results showed 100% of respondents said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at listening to them during their last appointment, compared to the local average of 85% and the national average of 87%. We received 69 positive CQC give feedback on care experience online forms. Patients reported satisfaction with the quality of clinical care, examples included “Very impressed with the quality of this GP practice. Their support has been excellent”. “Staff are very hands on and caring people that provide brilliant care”. “Fantastic doctors who have been incredibly patient, kind and professional.” Staff we spoke with understood Gillick competency and 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 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.
The results of the National GP Patient Survey 2026 showed patients were satisfied with their involvement in decisions about their care and treatment, 98% of patients surveyed responded positively, compared to the local average of 90% and the national average of 92%.
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. Staff informed us patients would be offered a chaperone, and we saw visible notices displayed in waiting and clinical areas to support this.
 

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 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 alert to people’s needs and took time to observe, communicate and engage people in discussions about their immediate needs. The National GP patient survey found 94% of patients knew what the next step would be after contacting the service and 94% knew what the next step would be within two days of contacting the service.
 

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.
We got feedback from 6 staff members who all told us that leaders were approachable, and supportive. Staff said the team was understanding and looked after their patients.
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. We saw team building days were established within the practice.