Swallowfield 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

The service consistently demonstrated a caring and compassionate approach. Staff treated people with kindness, respect, and dignity, and patients reported positive experiences of care. People felt listened to and supported, and their preferences were respected.

Staff promoted privacy and ensured patients were involved in decisions about their care and treatment. Feedback from patients, including the 2025 National Patient Survey and the Friends and Family Test, was largely positive, highlighting that staff were approachable, supportive, and understanding. The service also supported staff wellbeing, contributing to a positive and respectful working environment.

At our last assessment in August 2016, we rated this key question as Good. At this assessment, the rating remains the same.

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. The 2025 National GP Patient Survey data reflected people felt listened to and were treated with kindness.

88% of the respondents felt the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern during their last general practice appointment in comparison to the local average of 87% and national average of 86%.

91% of the respondents felt the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at listening to them during their last general practice appointment in comparison to the local average of 88% and national average 87%.

NHS Friends and Family Test data collected over recent months included positive feedback from patients, who described staff as friendly, professional, supportive, efficient, and understanding. Patients also provided complimentary testimonials highlighting the caring nature of staff at the practice.

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 made effective use of Primary Care Network (PCN) resources, including a social prescriber and a mental health practitioner. The social prescriber supported patients by connecting them with community-based services and activities to improve wellbeing, reduce social isolation, and address non-medical needs. The mental health practitioner provided early assessment and support for patients with mental health concerns, helping to improve access to care and reduce waiting times for specialist services.

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 2025 National GP Patient Survey results suggested that 94% of the respondents felt they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment in comparison to the local average of 92% and a national average of 91%.

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.

Feedback received from the care homes managed by the provider was positive. They suggested the provider was responsive to their immediate needs and offered weekly rounds for the residents with 1 of the Senior GP at the practice.

The 2025 National GP Patient Survey results suggested that 97% of the felt their needs were met during their last general practice appointment in comparison to the local average of 91% and national average of 90%.

81% of the respondents felt the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at considering their mental wellbeing during their last general practice appointment in comparison to the local average and national average of 74%.

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

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.

Staff reported that support was in place through regular meetings and yearly appraisals with the line managers. Staff had learning afternoons to share resources, knowledge and manage any mandatory trainings. However, feedback from staff suggested that communication within the practice could be improved. This was acknowledged by the provider, who confirmed that steps would be taken to strengthen and improve communication.