Great Barr Medical Centre

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 patients 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 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.

The service always treated patients with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

National GP Patient Survey data (2026) showed 75% of patients said the healthcare professional they saw or spoke to was good at treating them with care and concern during their last general practice appointment. This was below the local average of 84% and the national average of 86%. Patients we spoke with on the day of the assessment told us they had seen significant improvements and found the GPs caring. Results from the Friends and Family Test (FFT) showed that from April 2025 to March 2026 the practice had received 1823 responses. The results showed 81.3% had rated their experience at the practice as either very good or good.

Further results from the GP national patient survey showed 74% of patients found reception and administrative team helpful, this was lower than the local average of 81% and the national average of 85%. The practice had seen a steady increase in patient satisfaction scores. For example, for helpfulness of reception and administration staff, in 2024 the practice had achieved 60% and in 2025 69%. The leadership team had listened to feedback from patients and had made changes to the reception team which included changes to roles and the recruitment of new staff.

Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy. Staff that chaperoned patients were aware of their responsibilities in maintaining a person’s dignity and safety, including during an intimate examination. We observed notices around the practice advising that chaperones were available and how to request one. 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 patients as individuals and made sure patients’ care, support and treatment met patients’ needs and preferences. They took account of patients’ strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Patients’ personal, cultural, social, religious and equality characteristics needs were understood and met. The practice demonstrated a person-centred approach to equitable access. Alerts were added to patient records. These ensured staff were aware of patients’ individual needs, including communication preferences and mobility requirements. Systems enabled staff to anticipate and respond effectively to patients’ needs, ensuring care was tailored and accessible at every interaction. Staff had timely access to interpreter services, ensuring that language barriers did not impact on the quality or safety of care.

The practice had reviewed what they provided to carers, initiated engagement with outside carers agencies and had attended a national carers event to gain an understanding of what was available to carers. The practice had implemented a carers champion to provide a personalised service for carers. The practice maintained an active register of carers, with 191 patients identified as carers (1.8% of the patient population). Systems ensured carers were identified at the point of registration, and their wellbeing was routinely reviewed. Carers were supported through flexible arrangements, including access to vaccinations such as flu and pre-bookable appointments. The practice had reviewed its approach to supporting carers and introduced a carers pack which contained a range of information to support carers on local services available. The practice had also implemented a carers pack for young people to provide additional support.

The service promoted patients’ independence, so patients knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

Feedback from the National GP Patient Survey data found:

• 88% of respondents were involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment during their last general practice appointment, which was slightly below the local average of 91% and above the national average of 92%
• 88% of the respondents felt the healthcare professional they saw had all the information they needed about them during their last general practice appointment, which was slightly below the local average of 91% and above the national average of 92%

Staff helped patients and their carers to access advocacy and community-based services. The practice had access to a social prescriber through the PCN who provided support and information on local services within the community. The patients we spoke with on the day of the onsite assessment told us they felt included in decisions about their care and treatment.

The service listened to and understood patients’ needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to patients’ needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

The practice had an effective appointment system that ensured patients with immediate or urgent needs were able to access care promptly. Reception staff were supported by a Duty Doctor who was present daily, providing clinical oversight. This enabled immediate validation of decisions, timely escalation where required and a responsive approach to managing patient demand or clinical queries.

Staff were all trained in recognising the signs of sepsis and a deteriorating patient and staff knew where to access emergency equipment.

The results of the GP national patient survey showed that 86% of patients felt their needs were met during their last appointment, which was in line with the local average of 88% and national average of 90%.

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

At the last assessment in 2025 we found some staff were carrying out roles, which were not appropriate for them to be undertaking as they were unable to demonstrate appropriate knowledge and awareness of clinical guidance. At this assessment, we found a review of staff roles and responsibilities had been undertaken. The practice had implemented a clinical competency validation framework to review the competencies and developmental needs of staff carrying out clinical roles at the practice. This was supported by a clinical supervision schedule where a named supervisor was aligned to a clinical staff member to provide support and regular reviews.

Staff told us that leaders were highly supportive, approachable and genuinely committed to their wellbeing. There was a strong, positive culture in which staff felt valued, respected and well supported by both the leadership team and colleagues. Staff spoke positively about their working environment, describing high levels of morale, cohesive team environment and a shared sense of purpose. This was reflected in the results of a staff survey completed by 19 staff members in May 2026. The leadership team had compared the outcomes of the survey from 2025 and 2026 to identify where improvements had been made and what further actions were required. The most significant improvement that had been seen was improvements in teamwork. The 2026 showed 89.5% of staff agreed or strongly agreed that the practice worked well together as a team. The leadership team attributed this improvement to the programme of structured meetings and team events that had been implemented. Further results from the survey showed 100% of staff had said that practice leaders and managers were approachable and the partners were visible and accessible.

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. The leadership team had implemented a range of initiatives to support staff wellbeing, this included the shining star award, where staff could nominate a colleague. The leadership team actively encouraged staff to take part in the awards as it built a culture of mutual appreciation.