Noakbridge 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.The National GP Patient Survey showed that patient satisfaction about their experience of being treated with kindness and compassion was below local and national averages. Feedback to CQC was both positive and negative and covered a range of aspects of care and treatment, including access, being listened to and supported. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity. People had choice in their care and treatment. The service supported staff wellbeing.

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

However, National GP Patient Survey data reflected people did not always feel listened to and treated with kindness. For example, 71.1% of patients (compared to 86.7% nationally) felt that during their last appointment the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at listening to them and 72% of patients (compared to 85.3% nationally) felt that during their last appointment the healthcare professional was very good of fairly good at treating them with care and concern. Leaders shared their action plan, September 2024, however it did not identify any actions to improve people’s experiences in these specific areas.

Feedback we received described staff as ‘welcoming’, ‘genuine’ and ‘helpful’.

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 did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s protected characteristics. Observations made during the inspection identified difficulties for people who required reasonable adjustments to enter and exit the building. The provider took immediate intermediary action to improve access for people.

Patients’ personal, cultural, social, religious needs were understood and met. Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. People’s pronouns were recorded within the patient record, and the practice identified specific preferences, for example people were recorded as living with a haematological disorder of immunosuppression opposed to HIV if this was their preference.

Staff had received training in meeting the needs of people with autisms and learning disabilities. Staff we spoke with told us how they ensured the individual communication needs of patients were known and communicated. Information was available in different formats, for example, easy read, to meet the needs of patients.

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.

The practice had recently introduced a total triage system for appointment triage that ensured people with immediate needs had access to services. Leaders told us they had access to weekday allocated appointments with the local Primary Care Network (PCN) acute home visiting service. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including mental health crisis teams.

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

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 and social events, such as outings, were established within the practice.