Salisbury Avenue Healthcare

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

Although the latest national GP Patient Survey in 2023 showed that patient experience was below local and national averages, results from the practice’s internal patient survey showed wholly positive feedback. Staff had received training in equality, diversity, and information governance. Clinical rooms had privacy curtains, and trained chaperones were available when required. The practice kept a log of all complaints, which were reviewed annually to identify themes and trends.

This service scored 70 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Patients we spoke with told us they felt most staff treated them with care and concern and were happy with the care they received. However, one patient said reception staff occasionally spoke to them abruptly and made it difficult for them to get an appointment with a doctor. The latest published national GP patient survey data showed 76% of patients who undertook the survey had confidence and trust in the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to during their last general practice appointment (national average 93%), and 54% said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern during their last appointment (national average 84%). The practice’s internal patient survey results between February and April 2023 showed 92% and 89%, respectively.

Staff had received training in equality, diversity, and information governance. They told us they attended regular team meetings, where they could raise concerns and felt listened to if they did. Staff said that they felt supported by the GPs and the practice manager.

We did not have the opportunity to observe staff interact with patients during the inspection. However, the two patients we spoke to told us that clinical staff treated them respectfully. One patient said that reception staff were sometimes abrupt. Patients were offered a chaperone when carrying out examinations; posters were displayed in the practice informing patients of this. Staff who carried out chaperone duties were trained for the role and had received a disclosure and barring (DBS) check.

The results of the most recent national GP patient survey showed the percentage of respondents who stated that during their last GP appointment they were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment was 69%, compared to the national average of 90%. In contrast, the practice’s internal survey in April 100 % of patients responded that they did feel involved in decisions about their care and treatment. The patients we spoke with were largely positive about the clinicians' approach, and none expressed concerns about not feeling involved in their care or being treated as individuals.

Staff understood and respected the personal, cultural, social, and religious needs of patients. Leaders provided multiple examples of how they worked to support their patient population. Staff and leaders demonstrated a clear understanding of patient's needs and could describe adjustments made when necessary to support these needs.

Staff received equality and diversity training as part of their mandatory training. Results from the National GP Patient Survey showed that the overall experience of the GP practice was lower than local and national averages; this was contrary to the results of the practice’s internal monthly survey, which showed that patients were pleased with their overall experience.

We did not look at Independence, choice and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

The latest national GP patient survey results showed that 82.6% of patients had confidence and trust in the last healthcare professional they saw or spoke to (the national average was 93%).

Leaders told us that the practice took complaints seriously. They kept a log of all complaints which were reviewed annually to identify trends. We reviewed three complaints during the inspection and found these had been handled appropriately. Staff had complaints leaflet they could give to patients. This included details of what to do if they were unsatisfied with the practice’s response.

Leaders told us they fostered an open-door policy for staff to approach them and raise concerns. Staff told us that they felt supported and that leaders prioritised their wellbeing.

The provider employed an external company to undertake a staff survey and anonymous staff interviews to identify areas for improvement. Following the survey, the provider shared information about available well-being services with staff and committed to organising two yearly team-building events. The practice had a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and staff were encouraged to raise concerns and report when things went wrong so that action could be taken.