Severn Valley 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 Good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

This service scored 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The practice treated patients with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff who provided a chaperone service were aware of their responsibilities in maintaining a patient’s dignity and safety during an intimate examination.

We observed staff treating patients with kindness and respect within the waiting room and over the telephone. As part of our assessment, we gathered patient feedback via our ‘Give Feedback on Care’ process. We received feedback from a total of 318 patients. 258 patients were complimentary about the care and treatment they received, and many patients praised the professionalism, empathy and efficiency of the medical staff. The vast majority of feedback about reception staff was positive, although some patients expressed frustration, citing instances of perceived rudeness and unhelpfulness.

The National GP Patient Survey data reflected patients felt they were treated with kindness. For example, 85% of respondents stated that during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was good at treating them with care and concern. This was the same score as the national average. In addition, 88% of respondents found the reception and administrative team at this GP practice helpful, which was above the national average of 83%.

The practice endeavoured to treat patients as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. Patients’ communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. People were asked at registration about their first language and a patient’s preferred method of communication was recorded on their electronic record.

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

The practice identified patients who were carers and offered them health checks, vaccinations, flexibility with appointments and referrals to social prescriber services for information and guidance on support available to them. Leaders told us work to support patients who were carers was ongoing and they planned to utilise the ‘AccuRx’ messaging service to identify carers and were planning a ‘Carer’s Evening’ in collaboration with the Patient Participation Group (PPG).

Clinicians told us they treated patients holistically. The National GP Patient Survey reflected this as it showed 76% of patients said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at considering their mental well-being during their last general practice appointment. This was above the national average of 73%.

The practice strived to promote people’s independence and support them to make decisions about their care, treatment and wellbeing. They provided patients with information and guidance to enable them to make informed decisions about their care. With regards to appointments however, the National GP Patient Survey found 19% of patients reported they usually get to see or speak to their preferred healthcare professional when they would like to, which was significantly below the national average of 40%; and 51% of patients reported they were offered a choice of time or day when they last tried to make a general practice appointment.

The practice listened to and understood patient’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to patient’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. There was a system that ensured patients with immediate needs had access to services via the triage duty doctor. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support.

Feedback from patients who used the service was mixed as some patients commented on the promptness of appointments, whilst others reported difficulties in scheduling appointments. National GP Patient Survey data showed that 75% of patients felt they waited about the right amount of time for their last general practice appointment which was above the national average of 66%.

The practice cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported them to deliver person-centred care. Leaders had taken steps to recognise and meet the wellbeing needs of staff. For example, at the start of the year to support staff wellbeing, the practice had introduced a Bank Holiday negative equity policy which protected staff’s contractual basic annual leave even where their bank holiday allowance was less than their bank holiday spend. Staff responded positively to this idea and leaders told us this was working well. Staff we spoke with told us they enjoyed working in the practice and felt valued by leaders.