Purley GP Hub

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

People were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion. Their privacy and dignity were respected. People were able to make their own decisions and be understood. Their information was kept confidential. Young people were able to make their own decisions when this met evidence-based practice.

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.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy, and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Patients felt staff listened to them and communicated with them in a way they could understand. They said they had their privacy and dignity respected and they appreciated the efforts of the reception team to facilitate a pleasant waiting area. Staff were proactive in recognising when people waiting to be seen might need additional support.

The reception desk was situated in the waiting room, which meant privacy was not always maintained as parts of conversations between patients arriving and receptionists could be hard. A glass partition mitigated this to some extent, and we saw receptionists were discreet in their discussions with patients.

There was a culture of kindness and respect between colleagues. Staff collaborated to provide support for people with mental ill health including children and provided support with emotional wellbeing. They supported children and their families in decision making about their care and treatment. Staff understood the process to assess whether a child had the competence to make their own decisions and give consent to any care or treatment.

Staff listened to and acted upon people’s needs including contacting family, friends, or carers on request. Staff locked computer screens when they moved away from computer screens to maintain confidentiality.

In recent surveys, patients highlighted the kindness of staff. For example, 1 patient noted, “Your doctors and nurses are amazing and super helpful,” and another said, “The service was really good.”

Staff treated people as individuals and made sure care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences.

All staff completed de-escalation and conflict management training. This was based on case studies using previous incidents and reflected common scenarios, such as people acting violently whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Staff said aggression from patients was frequent. All areas were equipped with alarm systems staff used to get help if they felt unsafe. Security was provided by an external contractor and shared with other NHS services in the building. Staff had a compassionate, empathetic understanding of people who demonstrated challenging behaviour and understood the influences of homelessness and alcoholism on how people looked for help.

The provider focused on improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities as part of their approach to system-wide health in Croydon. Staff worked with each patient to make sure they understood other services available locally, including pharmacies taking part in the government’s ‘Pharmacy First’ initiative. Clinical staff provided lifestyle advice and signposted patients to third sector organisations where these could help improve quality of life and health outcomes.

Feedback from patients was consistently positive. A recent patient noted, “I was really pleased with the whole experience. Awesome doctor and front desk staff.”

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

Clinical staff involved patients in decisions about their care and supported them to make informed choices where multiple treatment or referral options existed. Staff offered patients information in printed and electronic formats.

Staff discussed treatment options with patients and explained their decision-making. For example, a patient attended an appointment seeking a specific prescription. The clinician could not prescribe this due to their existing medical conditions. They explained the reason for the decision and advised them on next steps with their registered GP.

A recent patient noted, “I was really anxious, but the doctor was professional, and the nurse practitioner was so lovely.”

The provider 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.

We observed staff adapted to the needs of people who came into the service. During our inspection, we saw patients present to the reception team who were lost and looking for another clinic, those who turned up late for an appointment after confusing the time, and another with children who were agitated. In each case, staff adapted their communication to the individual, resolved their issues, and were kind and compassionate in the process.

The service participated in the NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT), which measured recommendation rates and other scores across services nationally. FFT results were consistently good, with a monthly average of 97% of respondents likely to recommend the service. This figure was monitored at provider level and reflected both GP hubs.

Staff were trained to respond to emergencies and unexpected events. For example, staff told us about how they stabilised a patient experiencing an acute deterioration in the waiting area, secured help from a clinical specialist working elsewhere in the building, and supported the patient until paramedics arrived. Staff worked together to maintain their privacy and dignity from others in the waiting area during this time.

Feedback from patients was consistently positive and convenience and access to clinical advice were common themes.

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

The senior team recognised the importance of promoting staff morale and used incentives, rewards, and time off for social events to contribute to this. The rota was structured so that all staff on a given shift had a crossover period to help with audits and responsibilities, and to give the opportunity to maintain consistent communication with each other.

All staff we spoke with were positive about the provider and the hub as a workplace. For example, 1 person said, “This is a great place to work. Morale is excellent and the managers are great.”