Lower Gornal 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.

Staff we spoke with demonstrated the values of the practice and dealt with patients with kindness, respect, and compassion. Interactions we observed between staff and patients, showed that staff listened to patients and treated them with kindness.

The service upheld individuals’ privacy and dignity, ensuring that personal preferences and choices were respected. Patient feedback showed that patients felt they were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity.

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 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.

The outcomes of the National GP Patient Survey regarding kindness, compassion and dignity were slightly above national averages. We saw that 95% had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to (national average 93%), 89% felt the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at listening to them (national average 86.7%) and 93% felt the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at treating them with care and concern (national average 87%).

Staff we spoke with understood Gillick competency and there was a process to ensure young adults had control over the amount of parental involvement in managing their care and support.

Staff that chaperoned were aware of their responsibilities in maintaining a person’s dignity and safety during an intimate examination.

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. Staff demonstrated an understanding of the practice population and shared examples of how they supported patients in a responsive way.

National GP Patient Survey data reflected that people felt involved in decisions about their care. For example, 96% of respondents stated that during their last appointment they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment. This was above the national average of 91%.

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. Data from the National GP patient survey showed that 95% of respondents stated that during their last appointment they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to. This was above the national average of 92%.

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. Data from the GP Patient Survey showed that 93% of respondents stated that during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was good at listening to them. This was above the national average of 87%.

Staff demonstrated a clear understanding of the referral process for emergency support.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Systems were in place to support all staff, including medical students and GP registrars.

While some staff expressed a desire for improved communication, they consistently reported feeling cared for and supported by the provider. The practice was adequately staffed, and they felt supported to carry out their roles.

The majority of staff enjoyed working at the practice and took part in social events together, which helped build strong team spirit.