Millfield Surgery

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 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 surgery 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 patients was shared with staff to encourage and reinforce good practice. The surgery worked on addressing the small number of complaints received and used these as an opportunity for learning and improvement.

Results from the National GP Patient Survey showed that the surgery consistently scored higher than local and national averages across several areas, most notably:

95% of patients felt that, during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was good at treating them with care and concern (local average 87% and national average 86%):

86% of patients stated that the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at considering their mental wellbeing during their last appointment (local average 75% and national average 74%): and

96% of patients found the reception and administrative team helpful, (local average 85% and national average 83%).

Through Give Feedback on Care submissions made to CQC, we received positive feedback from patients regarding the staff and care provided.

The surgery 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.

During our assessment we found that staff had taken on specific lead roles to provide more specialist support for patients. This included roles relating to women’s health, diabetes, heart failure, cancer, mental health and carers.

Results from the National GP Patient Survey showed that 99% of patients felt 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 local and national average of 91%.

In feedback received by the CQC, patients reported how the service had responded to their individual needs and how they were grateful for the time and effort staff had put into their care.

The surgery promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Systems and processes were in place to support patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services, this included promoting local services for carers on their website. As of November 2025, there were 416 carers (paid and unpaid) registered on their system, an increase of 80 patients identified on the previous year.

Results from the National GP Patient Survey showed that 71% of patients said that they were offered a choice of time or day when they last tried to make a general practice appointment which was significantly above the local average of 55% and national average of 54%.

43% of patients also said that they were normally able to see or speak to their preferred healthcare professional when they would like to, as compared to the local average of 41% and national average of 40%.

The surgery 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 and the National GP Patient Survey showed that 90% of patients described their overall experience of the surgery as good, as compared to the local average of 77% and national average of 75%.

97% of patients also said that they felt that their needs were met during their last general practice appointment compared to the local and national averages of 90%.

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

There was a lone worker policy in place for those staff working alone on-site or working away from the surgery. There was also a Bullying and Harassment Policy and an Equality and Diversity Policy in place which highlighted that the surgery was committed to promoting a respectful and inclusive environment and to supporting staff to treat others with dignity and raise concerns when dignity was not respected.

In feedback to the CQC, most staff were positive about the surgery and stated that they felt supported by management; that leaders were visible and approachable; and that there were enough staff, guidance and training available.

Leaders had clearly taken steps to recognise and meet the wellbeing needs of staff, which included providing the necessary resources and facilities for safe working, such as regular breaks and rest areas.

Team building events appeared to be well established within the surgery and staff surveys had been completed annually with the results being shared with staff during staff meetings.

We saw during our assessment that a registrar who had been trained at the surgery had chosen to come back to work there following completion of their final exams. We also heard how a member of staff who had worked as a healthcare assistant had been supported to become a registered nurse.