During an assessment under our new approach
Date of Assessment: 29 September 2025 to 16 November 2025. Walsall Wood Health Centre is a GP practice and delivers service to 1715 patients under a contract held with NHS England. The National General Practice Profiles states that the patient ethnicity is made up of 90.45% white, 4.37% Asian, 2.08% black, 2.42% mixed and 0.69 other. Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 4th decile (4 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.
At the last inspection in June 2023, we rated the practice as requires improvement overall, good for providing safe, effective and caring services and requires improvement for responsive and well-led services.
This announced comprehensive inspection was carried out to follow-up on the breach identified at our last inspection in relation to good governance. The practice had addressed the requirements in the previous breach and staff had now received the required level of safeguarding training and staffing levels had improved. However, at this inspection we found issues resulting in breaches of regulation in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. The provider will be required to provide us with an action plan in response to the concerns found at this inspection. The practice is now rated requires improvement overall, requires improvement for providing safe and well led services and rated good for providing effective, caring and responsive services.
SAFE: The practice had processes in place to report, reflect and learn from unintended or unexpected events; however, these were not always effective for improving patient care and records were not always well maintained. Although staff and leaders understood risk there were no effective or well-established systems in place to manage risks, including those relating to fire safety and infection, prevention and control. Although most environmental risks had been identified, action was not always taken promptly to ensure the safety of people using the service and staff. Safeguarding policies were in place and known to staff and they had now received the appropriate training for their role. Staff considered staffing levels had improved to meet patient demand for appointments. Staff were up to date with their essential training; however not all staff had received an induction or one appropriate to their role and not all staff had received an annual appraisal. Staff generally managed medicines well and involved people in planning any changes. Checks were carried out on the medicines and equipment held but not at the required frequency.
EFFECTIVE: People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was mainly based on latest evidence and good practice. 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.
CARING: People were treated with kindness and compassion and were involved in their care and treatment. The National GP Patient Survey results showed 85% of respondents stated that during their last appointment, the healthcare professional was good at treating them with care and concern. In addition, 93% of respondents found the reception and administrative team at this GP practice helpful. Staff shared examples of how they promoted privacy and dignity in their work. People had choice in their care and treatment, and their preferences were supported. The practice supported staff wellbeing.
RESPONSIVE: 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 National GP Patient Survey results showed 87% of respondents stated they found it easy to get through to the practice by phone, which was significantly higher than the local and national average. People were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw or not receive care.
WELL-LED: There had been a change in leadership since the last inspection and the appointment of a new practice manager and an assistant practice manager. Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Feedback from staff was mixed regarding support, guidance, views being listened to and visibility of leaders. Governance processes were not effective or fully embedded into practice in identifying or addressing risk or areas for improvement in addition to general record keeping. Staff had access to a range of policies and procedures, however these were not consistently adhered to. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Regular meetings were held to share information across the team. Managers worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas.