Sunniside Surgery Also known as Sunniside Medical Practice

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. At this assessment we found that some of those areas previously regarded as outstanding practice were now embedded throughout the majority of GP practices. While the provider had maintained this good practice, the threshold to achieve an outstanding rating had not been reached. The practice is therefore now rated good for providing caring services.

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.

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 practice provided some patient feedback they had received, and we looked at numerous thank you cards displayed in the practice office. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and spoke of the kind, caring and thoughtful staff and the difference this had made for patients and their families.

The National GP Patient Survey results in the caring category were consistently above the national average for example:

National GP Patient Survey data reflected people felt listened to and were treated with kindness. Of those who responded, 99.2% of patients stated that the last time they had a general practice appointment, the healthcare professional was good or very good at listening to them (30/12/2024 to 1/04/2025) compared to the national average of 86.9%.

Patients who stated that the last time they had a general practice appointment, the healthcare professional was good or very good at treating them with care and concern, was 98.7% (national average, 85.6%).

Patients who stated that during their last GP appointment they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to, was 100% (national average, 92.5%).

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.

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.

The practice held a register of patients living in vulnerable circumstances including patients with a learning disability, offering longer appointments when needed. The practice had access for patients with physical disabilities and a hearing loop.

The practice had 95 carers identified via their register. This was checked monthly by senior receptionists to identify any new carers so that they could be forwarded details of local links for support. An alert was also added to the patient record so clinicians could check on their welfare at appointments.

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. They referred patients to their social prescriber to ensure patients social care needs were met as well as their clinical needs.

The practice identified and met people’s communication needs to ensure they were fully involved in their care, with translation services and signers available when required.

National GP Patient Survey data reflected people’s involvement in their care. Of those who responded, 99.2% of patients stated that the last time they had a general practice appointment, they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment. (30/12/2024 to 1/04/2025) compared to the national average of 91.2%.

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 practice provided us with examples where reception staff had identified declining patients and alerted the doctor immediately.

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

Staff were positive about working at the practice and told us they were valued, respected and listened to by leaders. They described being part of one team irrespective of their role and that they all helped each other when needed. We saw how leaders made staff feel valued, relaxed and included as part of a whole team that worked together to provide patients with a high-quality service.

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 a rest area. All staff were positive about how the management and lead GPs supported them with their wellbeing at work. They said it was a friendly workplace which made the work feel rewarding. Staff recently introduced a mood board in the staff tearoom, which helped spark conversations and strengthen connections within the team. Staff reported being supported if they were struggling at work.

We noted that the practice had established regular team‑building days. Staff told us they enjoyed taking part in social activities, such as meals out and bowling for team development, as well as other events including special birthday celebrations and Christmas gatherings.