Knoll 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 patients 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.

National GP patient survey data collected between January and March 2025 showed lower than average patient satisfaction when respondents were asked questions relating to kindness, compassion and dignity. The percentage of respondents who answered positively were as follows; 77% said the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at listening to them (local average 86%, national average 87%); 75% said the healthcare professional was very good or fairly good at treating them with care and concern (local average 84%, national average 86%); 84% said they had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to (local average 92%, national average 93%); 63% responded positively to the overall experience of their GP practice (local average 73%, national average 75%).

We asked for feedback from patients as part of our assessment. We received 13 Give Feedback on Care forms, all of which were positive about the service. Comments referred to kind, reassuring and supportive clinical and non-clinical staff.

The practice reviewed Friends and Family Test data and carried out their own surveys with patients. We saw evidence that the practice took action as a result of responses from such surveys. For example, a survey asking patients for their views on annual reviews resulted in changes in the ways patients could access the service.

Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy. We observed staff treating patients with kindness and respect and taking time to explain processes clearly.

The service treated patients as individuals and made sure patients’ care, support and treatment met patients’ needs and preferences. They took account of patients’ strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

National GP patient survey data collected between January and March 2025 showed 86% of respondents said they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment. This was in line with local (90%) and national (91%) averages.

Patients’ personal, cultural, social, religious and equality characteristics needs were understood and met. The provider held engagement sessions with the local community to support patients to access care in ways that best suited them. Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care.

The service promoted patients’ independence, so patients 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 service listened to and understood patients’ needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to patients’ needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

There was a system for appointment triage that ensured patients with immediate needs had access to services. This system was effective in ensuring patients could access the right care for their needs. Unverified data shared by the practice showed that 94.5% of requests (for example, for appointments, prescriptions or advice) from patients were actioned within 48 hours. This was higher than the target set by the local integrated care board of 92.8% actioned within 48 hours. We observed the process for triaging requests and saw that contact was made with each person who had submitted request on the same day the request was made.

Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including mental health crisis teams.

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 being supported if they were struggling at work. We saw team building days were established within the practice.

There were opportunities for staff to progress in their roles, and we saw examples of where staff had been supported to complete training to enable this.

Practice leaders had analysed staff sickness and turnover rates. Staff sickness rates were significantly below national averages and the workforce was stable. The service is a training practice and a number of GP trainees transitioned into permanent roles on completion of their training.