• Doctor
  • GP practice

Sunniside Surgery Also known as Sunniside Medical Practice

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

8 Dewhurst Terrace, Sunniside, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE16 5LP (0191) 488 3200

Provided and run by:
Sunniside Surgery

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Sunniside Surgery is a GP practice and delivers services to 3,908 patients under a contract held with NHS England.

The National General Practice Profiles states that according to the latest available data, the ethnic makeup of the practice area is 96% White, 1.75% Asian, 0.61% Black, 1.61% Mixed and Other 0.59%. Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 7 decile (7 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. This assessment considered the demographics of the people using the service, the context the service was working within and how this impacted service delivery. Where relevant, further commentary is provided in the quality statements section of this report.

The last comprehensive inspection of this service took place in April 2016, when it was rated as good overall and for the key questions of safe, effective, responsive and well led. The key question of caring was rated as outstanding.

We carried out this assessment on 19 and 24 February 2026 as a fully comprehensive inspection. The reason for the assessment was the length of time since the last inspection.

For this assessment the service maintained its overall rating of good.

The service had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. The facilities and equipment met the needs of people, were clean and well-maintained and any risks mitigated. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers made sure staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Staff managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes.

People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on latest evidence and good practice. Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving services. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Staff involved those important to people took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and treatment. The service supported staff wellbeing.

People were involved in decisions about their care. The service provided information people could understand. People knew how to give feedback and were confident the service took it seriously and acted on it. The service was easy to access and worked to eliminate discrimination. People received fair and equal care and treatment. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. People were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.

Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Managers worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas. Managers made sure staff received regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care. Staff mandatory training was up to date however managers did not have clear oversight of staff mandatory training completions on their management system should staff not have been up to date.

10 March 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Sunniside Practice on 10 March 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good. The practice is rated outstanding for caring services and good for providing safe, effective, responsive and well-led services.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • Staff understood and fulfilled their responsibilities to raise concerns, and report incidents and near misses.

  • Risks to patients were assessed and well managed.

  • Outcomes for patients who use services were good.
  • Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered following best practice guidance.
  • Staff were consistent and proactive in supporting patients to live healthier lives through a targeted approach to health promotion. Information was provided to patients to help them understand the care and treatment available
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect. The proportion of patients who described their overall experience of the GP surgery as good or very good in the GP National Survey was 100%, compared to the national average of 85%. Several patients we spoke with commented on the helpfulness of the staff and caring manner of the GPs and said it was the best practice they had ever been registered at.

  • The practice had a system in place for handling complaints and concerns and responded quickly to any complaints.
  • The practice had good access arrangements, patients said they were able to get an appointment with a GP when they needed one, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a clear leadership structure in place and staff felt supported by management. The practice sought feedback from staff and patients, which they acted on.
  • Staff throughout the practice worked well together as a team.

We saw four areas of outstanding practice:

  • The practice had excellent results from the GP National Patient Survey in January 2016. The practice were ranked as one of the top five from this survey by a North East in a newspaper article. They did well in all categories and were ranked 34 out of 7708 practices nationally.

  • The practice went the extra mile to ensure that patients received person centered care. They could give us several examples of how they had a low threshold for raising safeguarding concerns for vulnerable children and adults. They also had a strong supportive culture for their patients, for example, when patients failed to attend review appointments, the GP would sent a personal letter setting out the risks to their health and how it was inadvisable to continue in that way. These letters would often be hand delivered.

  • The practice shared a frailty nurse with four other practices. The funding was made available from the CCG for this service. There was a scoring and referral system for the nurse to visit patients. This had led to improvements for patients needs for example the nurse had been instrumental in a patient being able to have a wet room installed in their home.

  • The practice had a good appointment system. They believed this had led to patients rarely using the local walk in centre service. Their patients had only accounted for 0.3% of all appointments (the highest practice in the area was 25%) in the last quarter of 2015.

The areas where the provider should make improvements are:

  • Record the numbers of the pre-printed prescription stock which had been distributed in the practice in accordance with national NHS Protect guidance.

  • Take steps to ensure staff complete all training appropriate to their role including information governance training.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice