Cape Hill 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 Outstanding. At this assessment, the rating has changed to Good.

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.

People were generally treated with kindness, empathy and compassion; however, patient feedback identified concerns regarding interactions with some reception and administrative staff. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. During the onsite visit we observed the interaction of the care navigating team with patients and found them professional and calm when dealing with complex situations. We also found patients who did not have English as a first language were provided with support by staff who could speak a range of languages used by the practice population.

National GP Patient Survey data showed 82% of people said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern during their last general practice appointment. This was in line with the local average of 82% and the national average of 86%.

Further results from the national patient survey showed 66% of people found reception and administrative team helpful, this was below the national average of 83% and above the local average of 79%. The results of the patient survey also aligned with feedback received by the CQC concerning the helpfulness of staff. Monthly meetings were held with the reception team and the results of the survey were used to implement training updates and discussions with staff on how to improve patient satisfaction.

Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy. 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 took steps to understand and respond to people's individual needs, preferences and communication requirements. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. A hearing loop was in place to support patients who had hearing difficulties.

Resources were available such as interpreters to support patients who did not have English as a first language and staff we spoke with were aware of the needs of the practice’s population and gave us examples on how they supported patients. For example, appointments were offered at different times of the day to suit people's needs.

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. The practice had access to a social prescriber through the Primary Care Network (PCN) who provided support and information on local services within the community. The people we spoke with on the day of the onsite assessment told us they felt included in decisions about their care and treatment.

The service had systems in place to identify and respond to people's urgent needs and ensure timely access to appropriate care and support.

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 practice had an inhouse social prescribing team who connected patients with non-medical community support.The social prescribing lead from the practice, supervised the social prescribing team across the PCN. The practice worked with a third party, who provided clinical pharmacy support to monitor people and the prescribing of medicines.

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

The practice staff said they felt valued by the leadership team. We spoke with a range of staff on the day and found staff were positive about working at the practice and the support they received. Staff told us that they had been well supported when needed and adjustments had been made when required to ensure that staff were able to do their role effectively. Staff told us they were given opportunities to develop and were encouraged to discuss any areas they were interested in learning.

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 leadership team had a range of initiatives to ensure the wellbeing of staff.