The Grove Medical Centre

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 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.

Results from the 2025 National GP Patient Survey reflected people felt listened to and were treated with kindness. It showed that 72% of patients felt the healthcare professional they saw during their last appointment was very good or fairly good at listening to them. This was below local (82%) and national averages (87%). Results also showed that 71% of respondents to the survey found the reception and administrative team helpful (local 77%, national 83%).

Healthwatch Waltham Forest shared patient experience data from 1 January 2025 to 31 January 2025 which indicated high levels of reported compassion and professionalism. There was no recurring theme of dissatisfaction relating to dignity, respect or empathy.

Staff provided personalised care that met patients’ needs and preferences and considered their abilities, culture, and protected characteristics. Staff used different communication aids and interpreters to enable patients to engage in their care, treatment and support to improve their experience and outcomes.

Staff had received training on how to support autistic people and people with a learning disability. Patients’ communication needs were also met by staff using Google Translate and Language Line if they needed to communicate with staff face to face. Staff informed us patients would be offered a chaperone, and we saw notices displayed in waiting and clinical areas to support this. However, the service did not have a hearing loop for patients who struggled with hearing.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff told us that people were supported to have choice and control over their own care and to make decisions about their care, treatment and wellbeing. The service supported people to understand their rights by using different ways to communicate.

There were policies and procedures to ensure peoples records were kept up to date with information that supported them to maintain relationships, as well as networks that were important to them. Staff helped patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services. The service social prescriber worked closely with patients in this area.

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. The National GP patient survey had 124 responses. This found 69% of patients knew what the next step would be after contacting the service and 97% knew what the next step would be within two days of contacting the service. This result was higher than local (89%) and national averages(93%). 79% of people who responded stated to some extent or definitely their needs were met during their last GP appointment compared with 87%local and 90% national results.

A triage system helped to ensure timely access for those with urgent needs. Staff were familiar with referral pathways, including mental health crisis support. If patients came into the service to ask for an appointment, staff told us they would support the patient with their request.

Leaders supported staff wellbeing and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. They had regular meetings where staff could raise concerns. Most staff told us they were valued by leaders. Leaders took steps to meet the wellbeing needs of staff, by providing appropriate resources, regular breaks, and safe working environments. However, 4 members of staff told us they had not felt supported when managers asked them to take on more administrative work. They told us they felt stressed and overwhelmed due to high workload. Staff told us they had regular opportunities to provide feedback, raise concerns and suggest ways to improve the service. This was done through team meetings and one to ones.