The Pines 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. Staff protected patients’ privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and treatment. The service supported staff wellbeing. The practice had an established patient participation group (PPG), which the practice routinely approached for feedback on the services they provided. We found the practice was providing a caring service overall. This key question has been rated as good.

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.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. People we received feedback from described how they were listened to and treated with kindness and compassion. National GP patient survey data showed people consistently felt listened to and treated with kindness. 91% of patients surveyed said they felt the healthcare professional they saw was good at treating them with care and concern which was above the national average of 86%. 93% of respondents felt the healthcare professional was good at listening to them which was also above the national average of 87%. During the site visit, we observed staff being helpful and polite to patients. Members of the PPG we spoke with described friendly and caring staff.

Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy. Staff we spoke with understood Gillick competency (a legal principle used to determine if a child under 16 has the maturity, intelligence, and understanding to consent to medical treatment or advice without parental knowledge or agreement). 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 ensured reasonable adjustments were recorded and observed for people with protected characteristics or specific wishes. Privacy was encouraged at the reception desk and trained chaperones were also available if needed. There was a dedicated room available for patients’ requiring privacy. All staff we spoke with and received feedback from demonstrated a genuine commitment to supporting patients and providing them with the best care and treatment possible.

The practice 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. Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. People were treated with respect and dignity and supported to manage their health in a way that made sense to them. Feedback received from people suggested that staff took account of their individual circumstances during consultations. Staff explained how they assessed, understood and recorded people’s needs and preferences to make sure their care and treatment was individualised and tailored to their circumstances. Results of the National GP patient survey 2025, found 88% of patients surveyed felt their healthcare needs were met at their last appointment, this was slightly below the national average of 90%.

The practice 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. Information was available in the waiting area and on the practice website which advised people how to access a range of support groups and organisations.

The practice listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to peoples’ needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. Staff and leaders told us they provided translation services, including British Sign Language to accommodate people who required this during their appointments.

There was a system for appointment triage that ensured people with immediate needs had access to services. We saw there was a doctor on call available each day supported by members of the administration team to ensure appropriate and timely triage of patient queries and appointment requests.

Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including mental health crisis teams. People we spoke with felt their needs had been met by the practice. We reviewed a random sample of staff training records and saw all staff had appropriate training in emergency procedures such as fire safety and basic life support. Staff understood the emergency procedures and their role in them. The practice held regular fire drills.

The practice leaders always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and were exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

We received consistent and overwhelmingly positive feedback from staff about working at the practice. Staff were proud of the organisation and spoke highly of the culture and how they were valued. There were high levels of staff engagement and development. Staff were actively encouraged to raise concerns. Managers would routinely check in with them through the day to ensure their wellbeing.

Staff gave us examples of where they had challenges in their personal lives and described how the management at the practice had given them exceptional support, advice and assistance during these times. Staff said that nothing was ever a problem to the management in terms of supporting them.

Staff had access to a confidential employee assistance programme, which offered support for a range of areas such as stress, bereavement, advice on financial matters and legal information. Employees could access confidential counselling support either over the telephone or face to face.

We observed staff areas were well maintained and there were employee specific noticeboards throughout staff areas with information on practice policies, staff events and recognition of recent achievements. Messages of thanks from patients and leaders were also displayed.

Staff told us, and managers explained how they had arranged wellness activities and gifts for staff. Group activities such as get togethers, meals out, celebrations of birthdays and significant milestones and a theatre trip to London. The team were also actively involved in charity work, having raised considerable amounts of money over the years for national and local charities. For example, in May 2026, members of the team completed a local charity walk and raised £450 for a local children’s charity. They also did regular collections for the local food bank. Wellness was seen by managers as a leadership responsibility, and it was a shared value.