Great Barr Medical Centre

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

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 had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of patients and their communities. This vision was supported by evidence-based understanding of the challenges faced by their population and the evolving needs of the communities they served.

The practice had a mission statement which highlighted that its aim was to deliver high-quality, patient-centred care in a welcoming and supportive environment, where every patient is treated with dignity, respect and empathy. The practice was committed to improving health outcomes by providing accessible, inclusive, and evidence-based care, while supporting patients to take an active role in managing their own health.

Staff worked collaboratively to develop the practice’s vision and mission statement, demonstrating a consistent and embedded culture that guided daily practice and decision making. Staff reported a positive experience of working at the practice. They described strong teamwork and a shared commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care.

The practice had a realistic strategy and supporting business plans to achieve sustainability. Leaders demonstrated a forward-thinking approach and were committed to working collaboratively with their Primary Care Network (PCN) and the local community to educate and achieve positive outcomes for their patient population.

Staff development was a priority, supported through training, opportunities to learn new roles and continuous professional development opportunities. This resulted in a in a skilled and capable workforce. The practice also demonstrated effective workforce modelling, actively developing multidisciplinary roles such as clinical pharmacists and a paramedic to enhance capacity and improve patient care.

Leadership resilience and sustainability were evident, with key roles supported by deputies or shared responsibilities. This ensured that knowledge was not concentrated in individuals and that the service remained safe, consistent, and effective during periods of absence or transition.

Communication and engagement across the team had improved significantly. There were multiple, well-established processes in place for sharing information and learning, including regular team meetings, weekly safeguarding reviews and structured monthly clinical discussions. The practice used a centralised system to ensure staff had access to all key documents, audits, learning from events, and complaints. This demonstrated a culture of continuous learning.

The service had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Staff told us that their wellbeing was considered, and their views respected, and concerns acted upon. Staff consistently described leaders as approachable, visible, and responsive. They reported feeling listened to and supported, with concerns addressed promptly and constructively. We saw the leadership team worked with other practices in the PCN and were engaged in the development of primary care services within the local area.

The service fostered a positive culture where patients felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

The practice had clear policies and procedures accessible to all staff, for example, there was a whistleblowing, equality and diversity and duty of candour policy in place and a nominated freedom to speak up guardian to support staff if they wanted to raise an issue. Leaders told us they encouraged the reporting of incidents to identify ways in which the practice could continually improve.

The service valued diversity in their workforce. There was an inclusive and fair environment where staff regardless of role or working pattern felt valued, respected, and supported.

Leaders had implemented transparent and fair systems to ensure equal access to development opportunities, with many staff progressing into a range of developmental roles. Equality, diversity, inclusion, and human rights were fully integrated across recruitment, training, and organisational culture and staff consistently reported high levels of satisfaction, describing a workplace where they felt proud to work, listened to, and actively involved in shaping the service. All staff we spoke with told us they felt valued and were encouraged to be involved in contributing to the running of the practice. Learning and development opportunities were actively encouraged, contributing to a motivated and engaged workforce.

Practical adjustments were made to support staff needs, including flexible working arrangements. Training in equality, diversity and inclusion was in place, supporting a respectful, inclusive culture.

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and share this securely with others when appropriate.

Following the 2025 assessment, where concern were identified in governance processes, the practice had implemented a robust action plan. We found areas previously identified had been reviewed and systems had been implemented to ensure the safety of the practice and patients. Safeguarding registers had been overhauled and a team of safeguarding leads was in place to ensure registers were maintained and weekly safeguarding meetings had been introduced to discuss any concerns. Clinical supervision had also been reviewed and strengthened to monitor staff in clinical roles. Systems had been adapted to regularly review, discuss and share learning with the wider clinical team. At this assessment, we found governance arrangements were effective, demonstrating a proactive approach to quality and safety. For example, previous concerns identified in the management of medicines had also significantly improved with a joint clinical team approach in place to regularly review and monitor care and treatment. The pharmacy team had also developed a range of tools to support the monitoring of medicines.

Leaders demonstrated effective, visible, and compassionate leadership, fostering a strong and embedded culture of openness, accountability, and continuous improvement. There was a clear vision and strategy for delivering high-quality, sustainable care, which was consistently reviewed and shared with staff. Roles and responsibilities were clearly defined, supported by robust governance frameworks and strong systems of accountability that ensured safe, effective, and well-coordinated service delivery.

There was a strong emphasis on learning, innovation and improvement. Governance and performance management systems were continuously reviewed to ensure alignment with best practice and learning. Audits demonstrated a proactive approach to identifying opportunities for further development. Where improvements were identified, timely and effective action was taken, resulting in enhancements to service delivery.

Leaders and managers created a supportive and inclusive environment where staff felt valued and clear about their responsibilities. Regular appraisals, supervision and performance reviews contributed to professional development and accountability, and there was evidence of a positive, collaborative team culture.

The provider demonstrated an effective approach to governance, using a wide range of data sources to monitor performance and quality. This information was routinely shared, openly discussed and used to drive improvement through dedicated clinical governance meetings with a committee in place. Named leads from each department attended the meetings to ensure there was a consistent approach to sharing information and inputting ideas from the team. Key areas of focus included staff ideas, initiatives, incidents and complaints, patient care and treatment outcomes.

Leaders and managers encouraged positive accountability and sustainable improvement across the organisation. Patient confidentiality and information security were well understood and taken seriously by staff.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for patients. They share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement.

Leaders worked with stakeholders and the local community. The practice was part of a Primary Care Network (PCN) which provided enhanced services to patients. The PCN met regularly to deliver services to meet patients’ needs and to support care provision and service development.

The practice offered extended access, flu and covid vaccination programmes. Staff had made adjustments and collaborated with local services to further support community healthcare services. For example, a group of the practice staff had attended a carers event to understand what was available locally for patients with caring responsibilities. The practice had reviewed and strengthened the information available for carers and had and introduced a carers pack for both adults and young carers with a range of information on support available. A carers champion had also been implemented at the practice to provide a personalised approach to carers.

A patient participation group (PPG) was in place; and meetings were held on average every 2 months. We spoke with a member of the PPG who told us on average 5 patients attended the meetings. The practice had engaged with the PPG on areas of improvement such as complaints, access and local services available and the leadership team regularly asked for feedback. This was confirmed by the PPG member we spoke with who told us that they had seen improvements at the practice, especially in the past 12 months, this included improved access to services provided.

The service had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for patients. They actively contribute to safe, effective practice and research.

There was a clear emphasis on embedding a culture where innovation was encouraged. Staff were empowered and for delivering change, with a proactive approach to identifying and implementing new ways of working.

The practice fostered continuous professional development across all staff groups, with clear evidence of internal career progression, including staff advancing into lead roles. The ongoing development of skills, knowledge, and competence was seen as essential to delivering high-quality, safe care, improving access, and supporting long-term sustainability. Staff were actively supported to acquire new skills and share best practice.

The clinical team continually reviewed clinical guidelines and carried out regular audits and service improvements to ensure patients received high quality sustainable care. For example,

• The practice was involved in a national NHS England approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. The plan defined a target population and supported organisations to focus improvement activity on groups who are more likely to experience poorer access, poorer experience and poorer outcomes. The practice had used multiple deprivation data to map deprivation status of the practice population. The leadership team had implemented processes within the clinical system to identify patients using a structured method. At the time of the assessment, 4,606 patients had been identified, this represented 44.3% of the practice list. For these patients’ alerts had been added to their records, to ensure any adjustments that may be required to support the patients in receiving appropriate care were provided. These included interpreters and longer appointment times. This approach has provided staff with the tools to identify patients who may need additional support, more proactive recall, targeted review, or a different approach to communication and access.
• Between May and August 2026, the practice had implemented an opioid optimisation programme. The programme was to review patients who were on high dose opioids and whether the benefits of continuing these medicines was clinically in the best interests of the patient. The first cycle of the programme identified 10 patients. Each patient was provided with an extended appointment with a GP and pharmacy technician. Each patient received a personalised letter prior to the appointment, setting out what would be discussed. The appointment gave the clinical team the opportunity to discuss the benefits and harms of these types of medicines and provide support to the patient on possible alternatives. An agreed plan was put in place following the consultation. Results showed 6 patients declined to change and 4 patients were changed to another medicine or had a reduction in the dose of the current medicines they were prescribed.
• A 2 cycle audit of patients on medicines called ACE inhibitors, which are used to treat high blood pressure had been completed. The first cycle of the audit had been completed in June 2025. A random sample of 30 patients newly prescribed an ACE-inhibitor was reviewed against NICE guidance monitoring standards. The results of the audit showed only 43% of patients had received the appropriate blood tests within the recommended 1-2 week window after commencing the medicines and 43% had received a blood pressure check within the first 4 weeks. A task was added to the clinical system to prompt clinical staff in ensuring the appropriate monitoring was carried out in the recommended timeframe and the findings were also discussed at the clinical meeting. The second cycle of the audit was completed in October 2025. A total of 20 patients were reviewed who had recently commenced on these medicines. The findings demonstrated that 85% of the patients had completed the appropriate blood monitoring and 55% had received a blood pressure check. Ongoing monitoring was in place with regular updates through the clinical meetings and a re-audit was planned to monitor patient were being appropriately reviewed.

The whole practice team encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for patients. They actively contribute to safe, effective practice and research. For example:

• The lead pharmacist had worked in collaboration with one of the universities to provide clinical and technical expertise in validating a new clinical toolkit for the clinical system before it was launched for use across all GP practices. The purpose of the collaboration was to test a toolkit for psoriasis (a skin condition) that had been developed for primary care. The practice tested the templates and toolkits and through structured feedback identified areas for improvement. Changes were made to the toolkit following the practice feedback which ensured the toolkit was fit for purpose for practices when launched.

The practice had a quality improvement plan in place to help drive service delivery. This included regular monitoring of the appointment system. The provider worked collaboratively with stakeholders to improve the experience of patients using the service and to support the wider needs of the local community. Evidence provided by the practice showed demand through online requests was on average 3,276 per 1000 patients every month. This was significantly higher than the national average of 1,592 requests per 1000 patients. The practice had increased the number of GPs reviewing online requests and had also increased the number of clinical staff to meet demand.

To support the management of patients’ health conditions, the practice had implemented the following:

• Chronic disease management clinics (CDM). The clinics had been devised to review patients with long term conditions that were poorly controlled, led by a GP and supported by the pharmacy team. A list was prepared on a monthly basis of patients that would benefit from being seen in the clinics. Regular follow up appointments were organised to monitor the patient and review if any changes to care plans were required. At the time of the assessment, 67 patients had been seen in the CDM clinics. A recent audit of 10 patients had been completed to review the effectiveness of the clinics. The audit showed 2 patients had been referred to community diabetes specialist clinics to support them with the management of their diabetes and 4 patients had been identified as requiring further follow up for statin therapy. A review of the 4 patients had been completed and they had recommenced statin therapy following a review in the CDM clinic. Blood tests were scheduled in to confirm clinical impact. This approach shifted care from reactive to proactive management, with patients identified and prioritised based on clinical risk. Each patient received an individualised care plan, including medication optimisation, investigations, and structured follow-up.

The practice had been involved in a range of events. This included:

• In August 2025, the practice had designed and delivered a breast cancer awareness event. The event formed part of the practice's ongoing cancer care and health promotion work. The event was held on a Saturday to widen accessibility for working patients and their families and included an afternoon tea. The practice staff supported the event alongside community teams in providing information to patients. More than 50 patients had attended the event and money was raised to support breast cancer awareness charity. The practice had seen an increase in the number of patients attending screening. For example, in 203/24 a total of 760 patients had attended screening and during 2024/25 this had increased to 825 patients.

The provider worked collaboratively with stakeholders to improve the experience of patients using the service and to support the wider needs of the local community. The leadership team and staff were committed to the organisational priorities. These included the wellbeing of staff, innovation and quality patient care, supported by effective governance and decision-making processes. For example:

• The practice have hosted and provided support to several practices with the online triage model they use. The practice had adopted the online triage system early and this had given them the opportunity to review and adapt the system before it commenced in October 2025.
• The leadership team held multiple meetings with practices across the country to view the practice’s innovative system for the monitoring of high risk medicines. The practice had built a proactive safety net that flagged patients 4 weeks before monitoring was due and embedded medicine safety alerts to stop prescriptions without up-to-date results. The clinical system provider had also published the practice’s patient safety advance drug monitoring project so other providers could use this system. The practice had seen positive results with timely monitoring of patients on high risk medicines and this was also demonstrated during the remote clinical review completed as part of the assessment.Further evidence provided showed the overuse of inhalers for patients with asthma had reduced from 23.32% to 6.02%. This was significantly below the national target of 18.61%. The provider had also seen improvements in safety documentation compliance. For example, Methotrexate documentation had improved from 78% to 100%.