Kippax Hall Surgery

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• 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. We saw that patient satisfaction with how they had been treated by staff at the practice was very high, and saw evidence which confirmed this. We saw that the provider actively supported staff wellbeing.

At our last inspection, we rated this key question as good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

This service scored 85 (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. We saw that the provider made a room available to patients for private discussions about their health concerns, rather than raise this at the reception desk. We were told that similar arrangements could be made for breastfeeding mothers. Whilst the waiting area was small and located near the reception desk, a radio helped to mask conversations and lessen the chance of conversations being overheard. Staff we spoke with understood Gillick competency, and there were processes to ensure young adults had control over their own privacy and the amount of parental involvement in managing their care and support. National GP Patient Survey data showed that people felt listened to, and were treated with kindness. For example, in 2024 96% of respondents said that the healthcare professional they saw or spoke with was good at listening to them during their last appointment. This compared to average figures of 86% locally and 87% nationally. In addition, 95% of respondents said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke with was good at treating them with care and concern during their last appointment. This compared to local and national average figures of 85%. The provider had a caring approach to those who had recently been bereaved. This included the development of a bereavement pack of support information, as well as sending a sympathy card. From feedback we received from a partner organisation hosted at the practice, we were told that staff had treated them with respect, and supported them in their work. We saw that the provider had been recognised and accredited for being dementia and LGBTQ+ friendly, and for supporting service veterans and their families.

The service treated people as individuals, and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. Patients’ personal, cultural, social, religious and equality characteristics needs were understood and met. When required the provider made reasonable adjustments both for patients and staff. We saw that the communication needs of patients were met. For example, translation and interpretation support could be organised, and a hearing loop was installed.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. We reviewed the 2024 National GP Patient Survey and saw 98% of respondents said they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment. This was above the local and national averages of 91%. In addition, 77% of patients were offered a choice of time or day when they last tried to make an appointment, compared to 53% of patents locally and nationally. When booking an appointment patients were also able to indicate if they preferred a face to face or telephone consultation. Feedback from patients said that the provider supported their individual care and health needs. Staff helped patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services when required.

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. Results from the 2024 National GP Patient Survey showed that the provider scored highly in the ability of patients to contact the practice and raise their needs via telephone, website or by using the NHS App. For example, 68% of respondents found it easy to contact the practice using the NHS App, which compared favourably to the local average of 44% and the national average of 45%. We saw that the provider had formed a working group to improve NHS App usage. They had appointed a staff member to act as their NHS App Champion, had delivered a staff training session on the App and digital access, and had then opened bookable slots where patients could access one to one support from staff on how best to utilise NHS online services. Staff who worked on reception had been trained in care navigation which allowed them to inform patients of other local services which could better meet their immediate needs, rather than attend the practice. Staff we spoke to knew how to respond when a patient was in need of immediate or urgent attention. There were systems in place to support this, including the use of panic alarms, and availability of emergency equipment. Staff had received training in basic life support and sepsis awareness. In addition, staff that we spoke with were aware of processes for referral to immediate emergency support, which included support from mental health crisis teams.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff we spoke with and received written feedback from said they felt supported by leaders and managers. Separate feedback from a 2023 NHS staff survey showed an overall positive staff view of the practice. As part of their work to improve staff wellbeing the provider had produced a health and wellbeing policy and a supporting action plan. This identified the importance of improving staff communication and awareness of training opportunities and also developing a social aspect to work. We saw over the past year that the practice had held wellbeing events which included staff yoga, and mindfulness sessions. The practice carried out annual appraisals for staff members, these appraisals discussed staff performance and gave an opportunity for staff to highlight any areas of concern they may have, as well as identifying staff progression and development opportunities. As well as formal appraisals staff had regular one-to-ones with line managers, and were free to arrange ad hoc meetings when required. The practice had other policies in place that encompassed staff welfare, for example bullying and harassment and freedom to speak up. We saw that the provider had made changes to improve staff working arrangements, this included agreeing flexible working patterns, and through the provision of specialist equipment such as seating to meet the specific needs of staff. The management team responded to feedback from staff, and we saw that they had put in place suggestions such as awarding staff extra leave on their birthdays, and providing a healthy fruit bowl for staff.