Francis Grove Surgery

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that the service met people’s needs, and that staff treated people equally and without discrimination.

At our last assessment, we rated this key question as Outstanding. At this assessment, the rating has changed to Good.

This service scored 79 (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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Care plans reflected physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of patients including those related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act. Our review of clinical records showed patients were supported to understand their condition and were involved in planning for their care needs. They were also involved in decisions about their care.

Care coordinators were assigned to specific patient groups to make targeted calls to patients, particularly those with learning disabilities, who they felt benefitted from consistency with the same clinician. For example, a paramedic reviewed at least 2 patients a week from the local learning disability care home and liaised closely with the care home manager.

The service had an exceptional understanding of the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

We saw the practice worked in partnership with other services to meet the needs of its patient population. The practice held an annual “Dementia Day” where they invited external agencies to join with them in an event dedicated to raising awareness and improving the experiences of patients with dementia. External organisations attended as well as social prescribers. They reviewed the outcome of these days and said they saw an increase in number of dementia patients and their carers completing their annual reviews.

The practice had tailored its services to meet the diverse needs of its community, for example Staff told us they had a commitment to health equality, and they noticed a growing number of patients, discussing transgender issues, including name changes. The team worked to improve their knowledge and understanding, successfully navigating the accreditation process to become a LGBTQ+ gold standard service. (An LGBTQ+ Gold Standard is a top-tier accreditation awarded by various organisations to businesses, institutions, and services that demonstrate exceptional commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality).

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language. Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard. Patients were informed as to how to access their care records.

There were three waiting areas in the surgery. all areas had a range of information for patients relating to screening services, safeguarding, chaperoning, sepsis, and local support services.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment, and support. They involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

We saw complaints were managed in line with the practice’s policy. The practice had a positive approach to receiving feedback and had received 38 complaints in the past 12 months. They recorded formal and informal feedback around improvements as complaints. We reviewed some and saw they had been handled in line with their policy and procedure. Learning from complaints was evident through the team meeting minutes and staff were able to identify changes made because of patient feedback, including complaints.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support, and treatment they needed when they needed it.

In response to the National GP Patient Survey data and from feedback from members of the community the provider had identified changes to improve access to the service. For example, the PPG members we spoke with gave an example of the front door which was previously very heavy and difficult to manoeuvre. They worked with the practice to ensure a more accessible door was fitted and a new automatic door had been installed. Treatment rooms were available on the ground floor and first floors. They were all wheelchair accessible.

People could access the service to suit their needs for example online, in person and by telephone. The practice also offered a range of extended hours appointments in the mornings and evenings.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support, and treatment in response to this.

Feedback provided by people using the service, both to the provider as well as to CQC, was positive. Patients commented that staff discussed test results thoroughly and were always professional in their conduct.

Staff treated people equally and without discrimination. Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving people’s experience and worked with local organisations, including within the voluntary sector, to address any local health inequalities. Staff understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and adjusted support equity in people’s experience and outcomes. The provider had processes to ensure people could register at the practice, including those in vulnerable circumstances such as homeless people and Travellers. Staff used appropriate systems to capture and review feedback from people using the service, including those who did not speak English or have access to the internet.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Our records review showed people were supported to consider their wishes for their end-of-life care, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Patients identified as requiring end of life care were discussed at the monthly MDT meetings to ensure a joined up approach to the care they received. This information was shared with other services, such as district nursing, when necessary.