Spring Gardens Group 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 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 meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 80 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Leaders and staff 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. National GP Patient Survey data 2025 reflected people felt listened to and were treated with kindness. Of the people who responded to the survey, 88%said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern during their appointment. This was above the national average of 86%. 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.

Staff demonstrated exceptional kindness and compassion in the way they supported people. We saw people were consistently treated with dignity, respect and as unique individuals. Staff took time to understand each person’s needs, preferences, and what mattered most to them, ensuring care was delivered in a warm, respectful and person-centred way.

Staff showed genuine empathy and commitment when supporting people with complex and often challenging circumstances. For example, the nursing team worked closely with the local homeless day service to provide complex wound care to people experiencing homelessness who also misused substances. Staff recognised the heightened vulnerabilities within this group and ensured care was unhurried and centred around each person’s emotional and physical needs. Appointments sometimes lasted up to an hour, and staff were consistently patient, reassuring and attentive throughout.

People’s cultural, social, religious and personal identities were understood and valued. Staff took active steps to make sure people felt safe, respected and heard. They were sensitive to people’s backgrounds and protected characteristics, ensuring care was inclusive and free from discrimination.

We saw staff communicate in ways which supported people to feel involved and at ease. They adapted their approach to meet individual communication needs, enabling meaningful conversations and supporting people to understand their care. This helped build trusting, therapeutic relationships and ensured people felt genuinely cared for.

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. Of the people who responded to the 2025 National GP Survey data, 94%were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment which was above the national average of 91%. Feedback received by CQC confirmed most people felt they were included in making choices about the treatment they received if this was appropriate.

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 which ensured people with immediate needs had access to services. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including mental health services and community-based teams such as community nurses. Of the people who responded to the 2025 National GP Patient Survey, 88%said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at listening to them during their last general practice appointment. This was in line with both the national and local averages.

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 leaders valued them. Staff told us this had improved since the change in management structure where a GP partner had taken a lead role in the management and oversight of the practice. 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. We saw team building days were established within the practice. Staff had access to the primary care network wellbeing hub, leaders were providing exercise equipment to be available for use in breaks to counteract sitting and prevent osteoporosis and had planned sessions in meditation yoga.