The Brimington 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

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 remains the same.

This service scored 90 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Kindness, compassion and dignity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

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. The practice had been awarded a gold award for their work in supporting people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and other sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBTQ+).

People’s personal, cultural, social, religious and equality characteristics needs were understood and met. People’s communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. Data from the national GP Patient Survey showed that 95% of respondents stated that during their last appointment they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment. This was comparable with the national average of 91%.

The practice had identified 371 people registered with the service as carers which was approximately 4.2% of the practice population. Systems were in place to support this group of people.

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 people and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services and could refer people to the care co-ordinator and social prescriber for information and guidance on support available to them. There was a carer’s champion who updated the carer’s register, added alerts to their records so staff were aware of the need to offer flexible appointments and supported arrangements for flu and Covid vaccines.

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. Data from the National GP Patient Survey showed that 99% of respondents stated that during their last appointment they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to. This was above the national average of 93%.

A hybrid triage system for appointments was being put in place 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.

Representatives from the 3 care homes we spoke with told us that the service was very responsive and listened to their concerns about people living in the home. Feedback from the Friends and Family survey was overwhelmingly positive. For example, people commented on the speed in which they got an appointment and access to blood tests.

We received feedback from 2 people as part of this assessment. They were extremely positive about the service they had received and gave examples of where the practice’s processes meant they had received immediate care. For example, the speed and effectiveness of the flu vaccination clinics and the names of 2 members of staff they described as exceptionally helpful and always willing to listen and help with problems.

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 felt extremely 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 or had personal issues to deal with.

We saw team building days were established within the practice and several staff had been provided with specialist equipment such as standing desks. The practice had identified 3 wellbeing champions who provided support to staff and arranged a monthly social calendar. For example, flower arranging, dog walking events and Christmas wreath making sessions. Leaders recognised the achievements of staff through awards such as spa days for team members and teams that had performed very well. Partners paid for staff to attend Christmas events to thank them for their hard work.