Archived: Glemsford 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 staff involved people in decisions about their care and treatment and provided them advice and support. Staff regularly reviewed people’s care and worked with other services to achieve this.

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.

People told us during the site visit that practice staff treated them with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

Care home representatives were positive about how visiting clinicians treated people with respect and dignity, and confirmed people’s privacy and confidentiality were maintained. We reviewed indicators in the National GP Patient Survey data, published in July 2024. The practice percentages were more positive than the England average for 3 of the 4 indicators that relates to kindness, compassion and dignity, and there was no statistical variation for the remaining 1 indicator.

During the site visit we observed staff to be friendly and helpful with people at the reception desk and when supporting people by telephone. Notices were displayed to inform people that a private room was available if they wanted to discuss a sensitive issue or if people were distressed. Clinical rooms had privacy curtains.

The practice treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. Staff told us they took into account people’s abilities, mobility, culture and unique backgrounds, and any protected characteristics.

We reviewed the National GP Patient Survey data, published in July 2024. The indicator for people being involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment was above the England average. The feedback we received from people using the practice was positive. People told us they felt involved in any assessment of their care and treatment and felt confident that staff understood their individual needs. Care home representatives gave examples of when people’s individual needs had been considered by practice staff.

Staff and leaders told us how they recorded people’s individual needs and preferences and was reflected in their care, treatment and support. This included people’s social, cultural and religious needs. Staff supported people’s communication needs to enable them to be fully involved in their care. Staff were required to undertake specific training to improve their own knowledge and understanding of how to support people. This included training on equality, diversity, learning disability, and autism awareness.

Arrangements were in place to identify and support people who were digitally excluded. For example, people without access to a computer or smart phone could phone the practice and the receptionists would register them on the online booking system to get them an appointment.

The practice promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. We received positive feedback from people that staff considered peoples individual needs and choices during care and treatment. This included people’s carers being involved to support decisions.

Care home representatives told us people were involved in their care and treatment decisions.

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

The practice 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. People who provided feedback for this assessment had no specific views or concerns in this area.

Care home representatives told us they were able to obtain support to meet people’s immediate needs.

Staff knew how to respond to people’s immediate needs and how to recognise when urgent help or support was required. Staff told us about systems and training in place to support this, which included signage, guidance, training on sepsis, the use of panic alarms, and the availability of emergency medicines and equipment. The practice had a duty GP available every day to review urgent requests and was available for advice and support as necessary.

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

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

Practice leaders had taken steps to meet the wellbeing needs of staff, which included the necessary resources and facilities for safe working, such as lone working arrangements, regular breaks and rest areas. Leaders delivered reflective sessions, the themes were managing challenging/verbally abusive behaviour from people (particularly how the wider team can support the staff on the front desk), and looking after their own wellbeing, whilst meeting the clinical demands of their role.

Staff could be referred to occupational health and staff we spoke with were positive about working at the practice and appreciative of the processes to support them at work. Staff told us they felt valued by the management leaders.