Uni-City Medical Centre

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture

At our last assessment, we rated this key question as Inadequate. At this assessment, the rating has changed to Good. The workplace culture showed improvement, with staff giving positive feedback regarding the management team. Staff were aware of whom to contact if they had a complaint or concern. The service also fostered a stronger learning culture, and staff reported increased awareness in this area.

This service scored 71 (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 now had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Staff told us they have contributed feedback on the service’s vision, and this was demonstrated in team meeting records we reviewed as part of this inspection. Meeting minutes were noted to be more detailed, and contained evidence of staff sharing ideas and participating actively in discussions about the service.

The service now had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Since the last inspection, staff gave positive feedback about service leaders’ increased visibility within the service, which included morning walkarounds to greet staff. Staff said leaders were approachable and responsive to concerns, and they received regular supervision and appraisals. The leadership team continued to collaborate with other services in the local primary care network and contributed to local primary care service development.

The service now promoted a positive culture where people felt comfortable speaking up. Freedom to Speak Up contacts had been arranged within the service’s local primary care network, and staff knew who to approach, aided by guidance from leaders. Staff were informed about how to raise concerns and confirmed their understanding of these procedures.

Staff spoken with reported they felt respected within the practice and stated that colleagues would support one another. Staff explained that each colleague offered different skills and experience, both from current and previous employments, and individual input was valued amongst the team. The practice did not have effective systems in place to engage and involve staff . For example a staff survey had been completed for this year. We received 17 staff feedback forms as part of this inspection. We identified staff did not have display screen Equipment risk assessments in place and we identified staff were not being supported to have the right equipment to support their needs. However, the practice told us they held social events to promote wellbeing amongst staff, including Christmas parties and staff quizzes. Staff received Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training.

The service now had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. For example, the service developed an organisational chart outlining staff responsibilities that was available to everyone. Each day, staff were notified about who was present and which GP was being supported by a buddy if another GP was absent. This ensured staff awareness of whom to contact if needed. Leaders acted proactively, using the best available information regarding risk, performance, and outcomes to inform their decisions. Leaders and managers now provided effective support to staff, who were all aware of their individual roles and responsibilities. Managers now regularly engaged with staff to conduct appraisals and performance reviews, fostering ongoing development. The provider had improved its governance processes to match the needs of the service. For example, policies were reviewed and updated to reflect changes within the service, ensuring relevance and accuracy. Oversight of rota management, staff training records, and recruitment records now supported effective workforce planning. There was now clear evidence of learning from events and incidents, with this learning used to drive improvements and prevent recurrence. Staff now had access to service policies and procedures, ensuring consistency and best practice. A risk register was also now used to identify and address risks, allowing for better monitoring and improvement. Risk management covered long-term conditions, medicine monitoring, safety alerts, safeguarding, and staff immunisation. Managers regularly met with staff to discuss clinical concerns and risks, shared lessons from complaints, and recorded actions clearly to support ongoing improvement and transparency.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for people. The provider worked with other practices within their primary care network to offer extended access, and flu and covid vaccination programmes. Staff worked with other local community healthcare teams to improve outcomes for people at risk. For example, monthly meetings were implemented, centred around frequent attendees, to focus on the care of those at higher risk of hospital admission. The service attended the Gold Standard Framework meetings within the locality of the primary care network. This is a model of good practice designed to improve care for individuals nearing the end of their lives.

The service now focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. The service encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people and actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research. The service now had an enhanced learning culture and were now discussing and sharing learning from significant events and complaints with staff. Staff meetings now included learning from complaints and staff were also recognised where compliments were shared from people who used the service. The service had also implemented a suggestions box for staff to contribute ideas. The service now had a comprehensive programme of quality improvement activity and routinely reviewed the effectiveness and appropriateness of the care provided. For example, there was a clear plan for conducting clinical and non-clinical audits, with dedicated leads for each audit area. Outcomes and learning were shared with staff to ensure future best practice was applied.