• Doctor
  • GP practice

Tramways Medical Centre - O'Connell Also known as Tramways Medical Centre (Dr J O'Connell & Partners)

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Tramways Medical Centre, 54 Holme Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S6 4JQ (0112) 234 3418

Provided and run by:
Tramways Medical Centre - O'Connell

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 17 September 2026. Tramways Medical Centre – O’Connell is a GP practice in Sheffield and delivers services to approximately 8750 people under a contract held with NHS England. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the service area is approximately 87.5% White, 3.2% Asian, 3.2% Mixed, 2.9% Black and 3.1% Other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows deprivation within the service population group is in the 6th decile (6 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the service population is relative to others.

This was a focused assessment. We undertook this assessment due to the length of time since our last assessment. We assessed 10 quality statements from across all 5 key questions. 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.

Staff did not always keep facilities clean or maintain equipment appropriately to ensure people were kept safe. They assessed and managed the risk of infection adequately and took steps to control the risk of it spreading. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience, although safe staffing processes needed to be fully implemented and followed.

Staff supported people to live healthier lives, monitoring their care and treatment to ensure they received positive and consistent outcomes.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion, and respected their privacy and dignity.

People could access care, treatment and support when they needed it. Leaders and staff were alert to discrimination and inequality that could disadvantage groups of people who used the service and sought ways to address any barriers, but this was not supported by a practice wide policy.

The service had some vision and strategy, which considered the needs of the people who used their service and the wider community. Staff did not always understand their individual roles and responsibilities however, and leaders could not always account for the actions, behaviours and performance of staff because of a lack of clear and effective governance processes.

7 March 2018

During a routine inspection

This practice is rated as Good overall.

(Previous inspection 23/11/2016 – Good)

The key questions are rated as:

Are services safe? – Good

Are services effective? – Good

Are services caring? – Good

Are services responsive? – Good

Are services well-led? - Good

As part of our inspection process, we also look at the quality of care for specific population groups. The population groups are rated as:

Older People – Good

People with long-term conditions – Good

Families, children and young people – Good

Working age people (including those recently retired and students – Good

People whose circumstances may make them vulnerable – Good

People experiencing poor mental health (including people living with dementia) - Good

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Tramways Medical Centre on 7 March 2018 as part of our inspection programme.

At this inspection we found:

  • The practice had systems in place to manage risk so that safety incidents were less likely to happen. When incidents did happen, the practice learned from them and improved their processes.

  • The practice reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care it provided. It ensured that care and treatment was delivered according to evidence- based guidelines.

  • Staff involved and treated patients with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

  • Patients found the appointment system easy to use and reported that they were able to access care when they needed it.

  • There was a focus on continuous learning and improvement across the organisation.

We saw areas of outstanding practice:

  • The practice were able to offer improved support for patients with mental health needs through a local initiative called ‘Zest’. This organisation provides a range of low level interventions to support patients with mental health needs such as anxiety disorders and offer treatment to support their welfare.

  • The practice offered increased support for patients and their families living with dementia through joint working which included home visiting with the local Consultant Psychiatrist.

  • The practice had an IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapy) worker in-house to give advice and also had on-line and group sessions availableto support patients.

Professor Steve Field CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP

Chief Inspector of General Practice

23 November 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Tramways Medical Centre - O'Connell on 23 November 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

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

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.
  • The practice had clearly defined and embedded systems, processes and practices in place to keep patients safe and safeguarded from abuse.
  • Risks to patients were assessed and mostly well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, 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 and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

The areas where the provider should make improvement are:

  • The practice should review it carer identification process to ensure that all patients who act as carers are identified.
  • Review national GP patient survey results to establish why patient’s satisfaction with telephone access was lower than national averages.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice