Black Country Family Practice

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 people 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.

The national patient survey showed the practice had scored below local and national averages for a range of indicators in relation to accessing care and the overall experience of the GP practice. An inhouse survey had been completed recently, which showed improved feedback from patients on their overall experience. Staff we spoke with demonstrated the values of the practice and dealt with patients with kindness, respect, and compassion. Interactions we observed between staff and patients, showed that staff listened to patients and treated them with kindness.

People who used the service were supported to make decisions about their future care. Information about how to raise a complaint was provided to people. The provider understood their patient population and they identified and made changes to improve their service where required. Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving people’s experience and outcomes. The provider worked within the PCN and supported local service developments. Continuity of care was offered to patients where required or when patients requested consultations with specific clinicians. The provider made reasonable adjustments to ensure the premises were accessible to patients who required disabled access.

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 people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

On the day of the onsite assessment, we found staff were helpful and supportive to patients. The National GP Patient Survey data reflected lower than average scores for a range of indicators. For example, 72% 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 82% and the national average of 86%.

Arrangements were in place to promote patients’ privacy. 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 people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

The practice learning disability lead had developed a health check pathway ensuring the principles of respect and inclusivity were adhered too. There was a strong emphasis on promoting both equality and equity within the practice. This included enhancing staff’s understanding of learning disabilities to improve access to services and consistent approach to making reasonable adjustments.

Patients’ personal, cultural, social, religious and equality characteristics needs were understood and met. Patient communication needs were met to enable them to be fully involved in their care. A hearing loop was in place to support patients who had hearing difficulties.

Resources were available such as interpreters to support patients who did not have English as a first language and some of the staff spoke a range of languages to support the patients. Staff we spoke with were aware of the needs of the practice’s population and gave us examples on how they supported patients. For example, appointments were offered at different times of the day to suit people's needs.

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

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 people we spoke with on the day of the onsite assessment told us they felt included in decisions about their care and treatment.

Resources were available such as language line to support patients who did not have English as a first language.

The service 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.

The practice demonstrated a strong commitment to meeting the individual needs of patients with learning disabilities. If the practice setting wasn’t suitable home visits were arranged. Appointment times were also scheduled at quieter times to minimise waiting.

There was a system for appointment triage that ensured people with immediate needs had access to services. Staff we spoke with knew the process for referral to emergency support, including mental health crisis teams.

The practice had access to a range of clinical services through the PCN which included pharmacists and physiotherapists.

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

The practice staff said they felt valued by the leadership team. We spoke with a range of staff on the day and found staff were positive about working at the practice. Staff told us that they had been well supported when needed and adjustments had been made when required to ensure that staff were able to do their role effectively. Staff told us they were given opportunities to develop and were encouraged to discuss any areas they were interested in learning.

Modality partnership had a range of initiatives in place to recognise staff within the organisation. This included recognition awards and long service awards. Staff also had access to a range of services, which included an employer-paid scheme to provide employees with 24-hour access to confidential support and professional advice.

A staff survey had recently been completed across all practices with the group in Birmingham to determine how staff felt about working at the practice, training and development provision and if they felt able to ask for support. The organisation had seen an increase in the number of responses. In 2024 55% of staff had completed the survey, in 2025 81% had responded. There were themes identified across all the practices which included workload and staffing pressures, communication and leadership visibility and low morale. The divisional leadership team had an action plan in place to address the concerns raised across the Birmingham practices.

The staff survey data showed that for 2025, 62% of staff at the Black Country Family Practice had responded. We spoke with a range of staff on the day of the onsite assessment and also asked for staff questionnaires to be completed prior to visiting the practice. We received a total of 17 completed questionnaires from a range of staff in various roles. The overall feedback we received was how supportive the team were, accessibility of the leadership team and how staff felt listened too.