The Grove 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

This means we looked for evidence the service involved people in their care and treatment, and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last inspection we rated this key question good.

At this inspection, the rating has remained at good.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and treatment. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs.

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 practice treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity.

During the site visit we observed staff to be friendly and helpful with people at the reception desk and when supporting people by telephone. Arrangements were in place to promote people’s privacy.

We reviewed indicators in the National GP Patient Survey data, published in July 2025.Eighty-one percent of respondents to the GP patient survey stated that during their last appointment they felt the healthcare professional was good at listening, and 85% said they were treated with care and concern. These results are similar to the local and national averages. We also received 1 patient comment through our online Give Feedback on Care service, which reflected the same views as the survey.

All staff were aware of the importance of people’s confidentiality and gave examples of how this was maintained. Staff also gave examples of how they treated people with kindness, respect and compassion.

The practice 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. People’s personal, cultural, social, religious and equality needs were understood and met.

During our site visit, people gave mixed feedback. Some people told us they felt care is person centred. However, some people also told us appointments can feel rushed and that they did not always have enough time to discuss more than one concern.

People’s communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. Staff used translation services when language barriers were identified. Support was also available for people with caring responsibilities.

Since July 2022, there has been a legal requirement for practices to make sure their staff receive training to help them support autistic people and people with a learning disability. However, practice leaders had not identified this requirement at the time of our assessment. A subsequent review of staff training records showed that a small number of staff had completed learning disability training, however this was not identified or overseen by leaders. Following our feedback, leaders updated their required training, and the practice was in the process of ensuring staff completed this training.

The practice promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Staff supported patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services when they needed it. Information was available in the waiting area and on the practice website which advised people how to access a range of support groups and organisations.

The findings of the 2025 National GP Patient Survey showed 88% of the people who responded to the survey said during their last appointment they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment. This was in line with the local and national averages.

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. Staff and leaders told us they provided translation services to accommodate people who required this during their appointments.

People we spoke with felt their needs had been met by the practice and this was reflected in the latest National GP Patient Survey results, where 88% of the people who responded to the survey said during their last appointment their needs were met.

Staff knew how to respond and recognise when urgent help or support was required. Most staff had completed and were up-to-date in sepsis awareness training. The practice was undertaking work to ensure all relevant staff completed this training.

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

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported them to always deliver person-centred care.

Most staff we spoke to described positive and supportive working relationships and feeling valued. Leaders had taken steps to recognise and meet the wellbeing needs of staff, which included the necessary resources and facilities for safe working. The practice displayed zero‑tolerance posters and had arrangements in place to support staff safety. There were systems for staff to request assistance in the event of an emergency, and some staff had received training in de‑escalation techniques.

Staff reported being supported if they were struggling at work. They gave examples of how the leaders supported flexible working arrangements to accommodate personal and family needs. Staff also described positive examples of peer-to-peer support.

Some staff also told us about how the practice had supported them to develop in their roles to gain additional qualifications. However, in some situations this meant that there was not always enough cover to backfill their duties, which led to some responsibilities not being met. Leaders told us they were addressing this through the recruitment of additional staff.