Grove 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 practice involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. This is the first inspection for this practice since its registration with CQC. This key question has been rated as requires improvement. This is because the feedback by patients for the GP national patient survey was below both national and local averages.

This service scored 55 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The evidence from the GP national patient survey demonstrated the practice mostly treated people with kindness, empathy, and compassion, or respected their privacy and dignity. However, patient’s responses for some categories regarding kindness, compassion and dignity were below the national and local area national average. For example, the GP national patient survey carried out from January to March 2024 had 119 responses. This found 68% of patients stated the healthcare professional was good at treating the patient with care and concern, and 81% of patients stated to some extent or definite they had confidence and trust in the health care professional they saw or spoke to. The practice had annually reviewed the GP patient survey, and the leaders explained they had responded to patient feedback to improve patient experience, and staff had completed assessment customer care training and care navigation training. Staff explained patients were signposted to social prescribers and information about support groups which was available on the practice website and on posters in the waiting room. Staff told us they provided support and signposting to specialist bereavement services.

The evidence from the GP national patient survey demonstrated the practice mostly treated people as individuals. The GP national patient survey carried out from January to March 2024 had 911 responses. This found 84% of patients stated the healthcare professional they saw had all the information they needed about them during their last GP appointment, and 72% of patients stated the healthcare professional was fairly or very good at listening to them. The patients’ responses for these categories were below the national and local area national averages. The leaders explained they listened and responded to patient feedback through the GP national patient survey, the friends and family test, and their own survey. In addition, they reviewed and responded to complaints reviewing any reoccurring.

The evidence from the GP national survey and their own survey demonstrated the practice mostly promoted peoples’ independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment, and well-being. The GP national patient survey carried out from January to March 2024 had 119 responses. This found 73% of patients stated they were to some extent or definitely involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment. The practice had carried out their own surveys in 2022 and 2023, where they had received 100 patient responses. This found in 2022, 56% and in 2023, 74% of patients stated they were involved about decisions in their care and treatment. The patients’ responses for these categories were below the national and local area national averages. In response to these findings, the practice was considering enhancing patient involvement by providing further information and training for clinicians and increasing consultation times for patients with complex needs. Patients had access to British Sign Language and Language Line. Patient information leaflets and notices were available in the patient waiting area which informed patients how to access support groups and organisations. The patient leaflets were available on the practice website and were translatable into other languages. Staff could provide information to patient using an automated messages to patients through a computer software system and direct messages were sent by text message.

The practice mostly listened to and understood people’s needs. The GP national patient survey carried out from January to March 2024, had 119 responses. This found 72% of patients stated the healthcare professional was fairly or very good at listening to them, 66% of patients knew what the next step would be after contacting the practice and 90% were aware within two days. In addition, 74% stated to some extent or definitely their needs were met. The practice had annually reviewed the GP patient survey and put actions in place to improve the practice. The leaders explained that contact by patients to the practice was responded to promptly. Same day appointments were available for patients who required immediate care. If patients came into the practice to ask for an appointment, staff told us they would support the patient with their request.

The leaders told us they cared about and promoted the well-being of their staff and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. The leaders stated they offered flexible working to improve staff well-being. They explained the practice celebrated staff birthdays and religious festivals. The leaders told us that staff do not work alone. We spoke with staff who said they felt supported to work at the practice. The practice had not carried out a staff survey and did not yet have links to a staff wellness service. The business plan and mission statement for 2024/25 included actions to support staff to achieve well-being and achieve sustainable workloads.