Newhall 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 generally treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. We observed staff treating people with kindness and respect within the waiting room. However, we observed the challenges around maintaining people’s privacy in the reception area due to the layout. Staff told us they would offer people the opportunity to move to an area away from reception if they wanted more privacy.

National GP Patient Survey data reflected people were treated with kindness. For example, 93% of respondents stated that during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at treating them with care and concern. This was above the national average of 86%. In addition, 82% of respondents responded positively to the overall experience of their GP practice, which was comparable to national average of 74%.

The majority of feedback from people who used the service was positive about how staff treated them. People commented staff were kind, friendly and professional. However, a small number commented that not all reception staff were helpful or supportive.

Staff that chaperoned were aware of their responsibilities in maintaining a person’s dignity and safety during an intimate examination. Staff we spoke with followed the legal concept to whether a child under 16 could consent to medical treatment without parental permission.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. People’s communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. People were asked at registration about their first language and a person’s preferred method of communication was recorded on their electronic record.

Staff told us how they supported minority and marginalised groups of people for example people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or another diverse gender identity (LGBTQ+) population. The service had undertaken an adult transgender care audit to explore the care pathways and healthcare needs of transgender people, with the aim to support a standardised, inclusive approach to their care. Part of the audit included checking whether pronouns, gender identity and preferred names were clearly recorded in notes. The audit highlighted the read-codes needed to reflect the person’s identify and diagnosis, and pronouns were recorded on the home page. Action had been taken to address these issues. Through our conversations with staff, we found that staff consistently shared the same approach, pronouns and preferred name were recorded clearly in the electronic records and people were treated with dignity respect.

National GP Patient Survey data reflected that people felt involved in decisions about their care. For example, 94% 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 comparable to the national average of 91%.

The service had identified 519 people registered with the service as carers which was 4.7% of the practice population. Carers were offered health checks and vaccinations and could be referred to the social prescriber or care co-ordinator for information and guidance on support available to them.

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 and could refer people to the social prescriber, care co-ordinator or health and wellbeing coach for information and guidance for support available to them.

Data from the National GP patient survey showed that 98% 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 95% of respondents stated that during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at listening to them. This was above the national average of 87%.

The service had recently introduced an online appointment booking and triage tool. Appointments were prioritised and directed to the most appropriate clinician depending on the information shared in the online triage form. People who required a same day appointment would be offered the opportunity to book one. If an appropriate appointment was not available to book through the system, the duty doctor would review the information and take appropriate action.

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. A member of staff had suggested a wellbeing pledge and this had been adopted by the service: ‘We pledge to uphold a culture of respect, kindness and support, creating an environment where everyone feels valued, heard and empowered’.

The majority of staff told us they felt 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. Clinical staff were encouraged to take a break at 11am for 20 minutes and meet with other staff in the kitchen for a chat and support. The provider had introduced tiered annual leave entitlement linked to length of service, as well as a scheme where staff could request up to 5 days additional unpaid annual leave. Staff told us they valued the offer of this additional leave. The service had introduced a Wellbeing Wednesday once a month for staff, with activities such as chair yoga. The service also organised social events for staff.

The provider had conducted staff surveys to identify ways of improving staff wellbeing and action had been taken to address feedback. The results from the most recent survey were due to be shared with staff in the near future.