Horndean 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 Good

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 service 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 people’s privacy and the service had a private room for people to use should this be needed or requested. The 2025 National GP Patient Survey showed 91% of respondents felt heard and treated kindly. Staff were seen interacting positively with people, including helping someone who was coughing by getting them water and checking they were okay. 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.

The service 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. people’s personal, cultural, social, religious and equality characteristics needs were understood and met. People’s communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care.

When registering with the service, people were able to highlight any requirements or preferences that were important to them. These needs were then recorded in the service’s clinical records system, allowing all staff to be aware of individual preferences. The service made reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities and offered interpreting and translation services for those whose first language was not English, including British Sign Language support. Additionally, information could be provided on paper rather than digitally for people who had difficulty using technology, ensuring communication needs were met effectively.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. The 2025 National GP Patient Survey data showed 90% of the respondents felt involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment. Staff helped people and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services. There were leaflets in the waiting room to signpost people for additional support alongside a Primary Community Care social prescriber who was available.

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 to ensure people with immediate needs had access to services. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including the mental health crisis teams. We saw posters in the reception and clinical rooms to support staff to contact the appropriate organisations. The service also supported people who had been recently diagnosed with cancer by offering an appointment to discuss and offer any support needed.

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 and knew that there was always a member of the management team available if needed. One member of staff said “it is a lovely team and all staff are helpful. The doctors are very approachable. Works get done”. 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 and could always speak to someone. We saw team building days were established within the service.