Gosberton 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.

Following our last assessment, this key question was rated as good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

People were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care. The service supported staff wellbeing.

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.

The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Feedback from people who used the service was positive on the whole and staff at all levels were described as kind, approachable and helpful.

National GP Patient Survey data reflected people felt listened to and were treated with care and concern. Both indicators were above the national average. For example, 88% of respondents stated that during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at treating them with care and concern. This was above the national average of 85%. In addition, 88% of respondents felt that during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at listening to them, above the national average of 87%.

Staff that chaperoned were aware of their responsibilities in maintaining a person’s dignity and safety during an intimate examination. 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.

There was a separate room available for patients requiring a private conversation away from the reception desk.

To support breastfeeding mothers, there was a private area available for their use and the social prescriber was a peer breastfeeding supporter.

To support the local community the practice had provided a “happy to chat” bench for patients use to gather and chat socially and with a view to reducing isolation.

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care.

National GP Patient Survey data reflected that people felt involved in decisions about their care. For example, 91% 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 in line with the national average of 91%.

The service held a register of carers including young carers and had two dedicated carers’ champions who supported this group of people.

The practice held a community Easter event for young carers which was attended by 32 young carers.

A gap had been identified by the practice for timely, individualised bereavement support and had introduced an initiative to offer bereavement care through the social prescriber. Additionally, this service was intended to prevent potential long term mental health issues and reduce the need for prescribing anti-depressants.

The practice was an armed forces veteran friendly practice with awareness of some of the specific needs of this cohort of patients.

As part of their work to further support minority and marginalised groups of people for example people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or another diverse gender identity (LGBTQ+) population, the practice had recently appointed a LGBTQ+ lead in the practice.

Practice staff frequently referred patients to the social prescriber which further enhanced the practice’s holistic approach to establishing and providing care in line with patients’ individual 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 service 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 service had recently introduced a new appointment triage system and promoted the use of the online system for appointments and online consultations in order to meet patients’ immediate needs in a timely way.

Staff were available either by telephone or in person, to support patients who had difficulty navigating online services.

Home visits were undertaken to those housebound due to mental health issues as well as those with physical disabilities.

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Systems were in place to support all staff, including, GP registrars, trainee staff from allied health professions and other staff working on behalf of but not directly employed by the service.

Feedback we received from staff was overwhelmingly positive about the support they received from leaders and peers and the strong ethos of teamwork to provide the best care for patients.

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 as well as addressing specific individual needs. Systems were in place for staff to raise ideas, suggestions, or issues. Staff reported being supported if they were struggling at work.

Teamwork and morale were supported through various initiatives for staff such as social events and wellbeing activities such as art therapy and yoga.