Front Street Surgery Also known as Drs Orr, Green, Pal & Nellist

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 has increased to Outstanding.

This service scored 100 (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 was exceptional at treating people with kindness, empathy, and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Feedback from patients to CQC was exceptionally positive. People told us that staff were always polite, professional, and thorough and they could easily make appointments when needed. People also told us they felt lucky to be registered at this practice.

We saw examples from clinical records where staff had gone beyond their roles to improve outcomes for patients. There were several examples where the practice had provided an elevated level of care to offer dignity to patients, for no remuneration to the practice. The provider was able to describe to us several examples of where they had gone above and beyond but for reasons relating to patient confidentiality, we are unable to give further detail in the report. Where there were complex and delicate social situations, the practice made sure the patient was properly safeguarded. However, beyond that referral, they also continued to build on the therapeutic relationship to maintain trust with the patient and this led to impactfully positive outcomes.

National GP Patient Survey data reflected people felt listened to and were treated with care and concern (94% compared with the national average of 86%). Friends and Family data from the previous 3 months demonstrated that 91% of patients (from 64 responses) were extremely likely or likely to recommend the practice to their family and friends. Patients commented on the professionalism and care shown to them by both clinical and non-clinical staff.

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. Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy.

The service treated people as individuals and was exceptional in how they made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. The service took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Cases from clinical records that we reviewed exemplified the ethos of the practice in working as a cohesive team to provide personal, supportive, holistic care for its patients at all stages of their lives.

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. Friends and Family data reflected the individuality shown to patients. A patient commented that they felt that their needs were a priority for the practice team.

When patients died, the practice sent a letter of support and condolences to their family. Staff from the practice attended funerals of deceased patients when they were invited to and were praised during a eulogy for providing support and care that touched the whole family.A bequeath was made by a patient in gratitude for the care received at the practice.

The service was exceptional at promoting people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment, and wellbeing.

The practice had undertaken a project alongside a hospice, with assistance from a palliative care consultant and team. This project allowed them to pilot a reporting tool, to identify more patients at the end of their life, and how to best care for them in the community. The provider recognised inequities in end-of-life care both locally and nationally and was invested in improvements. The practice proactively ran regular searches of its clinical records system to ensure that the most up to date information about people’s wishes at the end of their life, or in the event of needing resuscitation, was accurate.

The practice used the Electronic Palliative Care Coordinating System which supported them using the most up to date information about their patients.

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

The service was exceptional in how they 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.

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 listened to the views of its Patient Participation Group. The group was made up of 24 members, and they felt well regarded by the practice team. The group could describe examples of when they felt listened to and were able to offer suggestions for change. These discussions with its members led to direct change, for example, within the repeat prescribing system.

On the day of our site visit we observed clinical staff providing support to patients with additional needs to access the building and attend their appointments. Staff knew their patients well and could tailor their approach to easily meet their needs.

Records that we looked at and cases described showed that the practice had gone beyond to provide care and dignity to people whose immediate needs were more complex.

National survey data indicated that 94% of respondents to the GP patient survey responded positively to the overall experience of this GP practice, compared with the national average of 75%. The percentage of respondents to the GP Patient Survey who responded positively to how easy it was to contact their GP practice on the phone was 89%, compared with the national average of 53%.

The service always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling 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 were established within the practice.

The wellbeing of staff was a theme throughout the practice’s improvement plan. They conducted surveys to gauge morale, wellbeing, and job satisfaction. Feedback from staff was encouraged, and social events were actively scheduled. Examples of this were the purchase of new kitchen furniture / equipment for staff break areas and new uniforms for reception staff. The practice had scheduled a whole practice celebration event for a GP partnership anniversary.