Pontesbury & Worthen 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.

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 including the offer of a private room/sensory room should patients wish to talk to staff in private or wished to sit within a calmer environment.

National GP Patient Survey 2025 data reflected that 97.3% of respondents felt listened to during their last general practice appointment, with a further 96.6% feeling they were treated with care and concern. Practice figures were higher than local and national averages.

The practice had identified 402 (4%) of patients as carers, which also included children. Carers had access to the care co-ordinators and social prescribers, who offered local and national support. This support included regular signposting to services such as the Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Connect worker and Admiral nurse team. The practice’s website, notice boards and social media page also included information about support networks.

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 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.

The practice was a veteran friendly accredited GP practice, and patients could be signposted to the local veteran outreach support that was available locally.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. The results of the GP patient survey showed that 97.5% of respondents felt 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 higher than the local and national average of 91.2%.

Staff helped patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services.

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. Staff told us that there were protected appointments for patients who were vulnerable and at the end of their life.

There was a system for appointment triage that ensured people with immediate needs had access to services. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including mental health crisis teams.

The service 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 and felt well supported. They felt able to raise concerns and said that they were part of a fantastic team and worked in a happy workplace. 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. The practice had implemented the lone working policy at the Worthen branch to protect staff. We saw team building days were established within the practice including festive parties and quizzes. Staff kept in touch through informal messaging groups, which were often used to share social updates and celebrate birthdays and personal achievements.