The Steven Shackman Practice

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

We looked for evidence that the service met people’s needs, and that staff treated people equally and without discrimination.

At our last assessment in 2016, 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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Care plans reflected physical, mental, emotional, and social needs of patients including those related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Our review of clinical records showed patients were supported to understand their condition and were involved in planning for their care needs. They were also involved in decisions about their care.

The service had identified 450 patients with carer responsibilities and signposted them to various support organisations. They also provided flu vaccinations to them.

The service understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

We saw the practice worked in partnership with other services to meet the needs of its patient population.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language. Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard. Patients were informed as to how to access their care records. Information in the waiting room included a PPG noticeboard, carers support, wellbeing services and palliative care support.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. They always involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

We saw complaints were managed in line with the practice’s policy. Learning from complaints was evident and staff were able to identify changes made as a result of patient feedback, including complaints.

The service had a well-established patient participation group (PPG) with over 100 members. The PPG met on a monthly basis and was involved in arranging numerous patient events including workshops to educate patients on long-term conditions, menopause and autism.

The service had undertaken a local partner feedback survey where they had collated feedback from Primary Care Network (PCN) peer practices, community nursing and palliative care, care homes and the local pharmacies.

The service had undertaken a PPG ‘you said, we did’ feedback exercise which included improvements to access and online systems, continuity of care, website information and a phlebotomy service.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

In response to patient feedback, the service had identified changes to improve access to the service. For example, they had introduced a new digital triage and online consultation platform to improve access. The service had made other improvements to access. For example, to improve telephone access they had upgraded the system to include a call back feature, introduced live wallboards for call handlers, and introduced online consultations. Data provided by the service showed the improvements had reduced queue times with 99% of calls answered within 10 minutes. The data also demonstrated improved appointment capacity and greater use of the NHS app by patients.

People could access the service to suit their needs for example online, in person and by telephone. Treatment rooms were available on the ground floor, and a ramp and automatic door had been fitted to the entrance.

The results of the National GP Patient Survey 2025 showed the service was performing similar to others with access. For example:

The percentage of respondents to the GP patient survey who responded positively to the overall experience of contacting their GP practice was 61.4% compared to a national average of 69.6%.

The percentage of respondents to the GP Patient Survey who responded positively to how easy it was to contact their GP practice on the phone was 46.9% compared to a national average of 52.9%.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Feedback provided by people using the service, both to the provider as well as to CQC, was positive. Staff treated people equally and without discrimination. Leaders proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving people’s experience and worked with local organisations, including within the voluntary sector, to address any local health inequalities. Staff understood the importance of providing an inclusive approach to care and made adjustments to support equity in people’s experience and outcomes. The provider had processes to ensure people could register at the practice, including those in vulnerable circumstances. Staff used appropriate systems to capture and review feedback from people using the service, including those who did not speak English or have access to the internet.

The service was participating in a national NHS England framework designed to target and reduce health inequalities. The healthy lungs project run by the PCN targeted a local area experiencing higher levels of deprivation than other areas. Providing a one-stop-shop for onsite spirometry testing, smoking cessation clinics and early cancer screening referrals.

The service was participating in the Cardio-Renal-Metabolic (CRM) enhanced service, an integrated NHS healthcare initiative designed to proactively identify, review, and treat patients who have interconnected conditions affecting the heart, kidneys, and metabolic system. The service was focussing on patients of south Asian origin and were running weekly evening workshops at the practice to reduce health inequalities in this patient population.

The service was participating in the ‘Pride in Practice’ program with the goal of eliminating health inequalities for LGBTQ+ patients.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Our records review showed people were supported to consider their wishes for their end-of-life care, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This information was shared with other services when necessary.