Alrewas Surgery

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

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. The practice had been responsive to our feedback in respect of the management of documentation in relation to patients with a do not resuscitate decision.

This service scored 79 (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.

Patients had access to appointments provided by a range of a multi-skillset of clinicians including GPs, nurse practitioner, clinical pharmacist and pharmacist technician, practice nurses and a healthcare assistant. Patients requesting an appointment were asked to provide a brief description of their presenting symptoms to ensure they were booked to see the most appropriate clinician for their presenting condition.

The Care Quality Commission received patient feedback via the link provided by the practice leaders for their patients to give feedback on care. One patient told us they felt very lucky to have such an excellent practice.

Leaders had a multidisciplinary team approach to ensure that relevant healthcare professionals were involved in the care planning process to provide a comprehensive approach to patient's care. Staff told us they used decision aids, such as leaflets, videos, or online tools, to support patients to make informed choices. The practice used patient feedback to identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments.

The service had an exceptional understanding of the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. The practice had completed a population analysis for Alrewas, Staffordshire. From this the leaders derived a strategy and service plan based on this publicly available data in order to meet its patients healthcare needs. Leaders had a clear understanding of the local population and complied with the accessible information standards within the surgery. Staff had received training in equality and diversity. The practice had completed resource mapping to identify community organisations, support groups, social services, and programs available to address these needs. Staff told us they worked to build relationships with community organisations, social services agencies, religious institutions, and local government entities, whenever possible to improve patient care in the forms of multidisciplinary teams. In addressing some social determinants of health, the practice actively collected for the local food bank and partnered with organisations that provide housing assistance. The practice encouraged staff training in cultural diversity as they expected the list size to grow up to 17,000 with a new housing development planned in the next 10 years. The practice had put forward development plans for growth to their ICB given the capacity constraints of their current premises and their growing practice list.

Information to promote the take up of screening and immunisation programmes was available in a range of languages. The practice had access to interpreter services, including British Sign Language (BSL). Information provided by the service met the Accessible Information Standard (AIS). Patients were informed as to how to access their care records. There were systems in place to support patients who face communication barriers to access treatment, including those who might be digitally excluded. Patient Engagement Champion is in place to lead and oversee all communication efforts. In addition, the practice runs a dedicated Alrewas Surgery community-facing noticeboard, located in a central public space, to extend health messaging beyond the practice walls and reach residents who may face digital or access barriers. Staff received training to support awareness of information governance. Staff we spoke with told of their awareness of an action taken to meet NHS England’s Accessible Information Standards . They confirmed they had completed information governance training which included General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Appointment access included a mixture of telephone, face-to-face, on-line and home visits which were also noted on the practice website.

Staff described the various systems in place for how patients could provide feedback. Staff told us they tried to manage concerns as they arose and learning from complaints was shared with staff at their regular meetings. The practice had a designated complaint lead. Information about how to complain was readily available. There was evidence that complaints were used to drive improvement. An example included the practice implementation of a new telephony and triage system in response to complaints around appointment access. Systems were in place to record, monitor and review complaints for trends and themes. Leaders told us they encouraged staff to manage complaints as they arose and to escalate to the practice complaint lead as appropriate. Outcomes of complaints were shared practice wide, including any mitigations of risks for learning.

Patient feedback results, such as the NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT) and the National GP Survey results were described and discussed with the staff team and Patient Group (PG). This included any practice improvement action plans. Leaders had listened to people’s experiences and as a result had implemented new systems for example, a new telephone system, made changes to improve the triage system and recruited two additional nurses , a salaried GP as well as a pharmacy technician.

Indicators from the latest GP national patient survey 2024 found that 62% of respondents said it was easy to contact this GP practice on the phone compared with the ICS average of, 52% and the National average of, 50%. In response to the National GP Patient Survey data and from feedback from members of the community the provider had identified changes to improve access to the service. Treatment rooms were all on the ground floor and automatic doors were fitted to the practice entrance. The practice had placed large, yellow background notices with the clinicians photograph on each of their consulting room doors, to assist dementia and patients with reduced vision. All incoming calls were taken away from the reception desk patient area and reception had a hearing loop for those with a hearing disability. Staff we spoke with were able to describe the systems in place to support patient access to the practice, this included urgent unplanned care and the out of hours arrangements. Leaders had proactively sought ways to address any barriers to improving patients experience of accessing their service 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 practice had completed a population analysis for Alrewas, Staffordshire. From this they derived a strategy and service plan based on this publicly available data in order to meet its patients healthcare needs.

The practice engaged and promoted equity in experience and outcomes for patients who perhaps hesitated to engage with national health promotion initiatives. The practice had completed a population analysis for Alrewas, Staffordshire. From this they derived a strategy and service plan based on this publicly available data in order to meet its patients healthcare needs.

Leaders and staff told us they had systems in place to support patients near the end of their life. They told us that the care provided to this group of patients was monitored as part of a wider multidisciplinary team and meeting minutes were available. The practice forwarded condolence cards and offers of the support, appointments and signposting for support via their care coordinator. There were policies in place to support planning for the future. For example, end of life care. Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions. The practice systems found there were 34 patients with records suggesting they had Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) forms in place at the time of the onsite visit. We sampled 6 records. We found 3 ReSPECT records completed which contained the information expected and 3 others which did not. The practice agreed to review and consider the information held within the patient records. The provider proposed an audit in the coming months.