- Independent doctor
The Great Britain Cycling Team Medical Facility
Assessment report published 3 December 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 01 August 2025 to 15 August 2025. The Great Britain Cycling Team Medical Facility is an independent health provider and delivers a service exclusively to athletes (riders) who are part of The Great Britain Cycling Team World Class Programme.
This care is delivered to persons who are aged 16 years and above. The service operates from the National Cycling Centre, Stuart Street, Manchester M11 4DQ. The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to deliver diagnostic and screening procedures, Surgical procedures and treatment of disease, disorder or injury.
Facilities included a clinical area consisting of a doctor consultation/treatment room and a large treatment room with six treatment beds. Care and treatment is provided to riders over 16 years of age, including Paralympians.
The medical team consists of the head of medical services / chief medical officer, doctors and physiotherapists, including a lead physiotherapist for para-riders. The medical services manager supported the medical team.
This assessment considered the demographics of the people (referred to as riders throughout the report) 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.
There was a proactive, systematic approach to managing safety. Leaders embedded, maintained and continuously improved a culture of openness and collaboration, and safety was everyone’s top priority. Staff demonstrated a commitment to improving safety, and there were clear roles, responsibilities and structures to meet safety goals. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers ensured staff received training and regular appraisals to maintain high-quality care.
Leaders inspired a culture of improvement, where understanding current outcomes and exploring best practice was a deeply embedded part of the culture, and learning was widely shared and acted on.
Riders were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments, taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was innovative and based on the latest evidence and good practice. Staff worked closely with all those involved in the riders' care, including leading specialists in their field, to achieve the best outcomes. The medical team ensured riders understood their care and treatment, enabling them to give informed consent.
Riders were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. Riders had choice in their care and treatment. The service was proactive in supporting staff wellbeing.
Riders were involved in decisions about their care. The service provided information that riders could understand. Riders 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. Riders received fair and equal care and treatment. The service worked to reduce health and care inequalities through training and feedback. Riders were involved in planning their care and understood options around choosing to withdraw from or not receive care.
There was a shared vision and culture between leaders and staff based on listening, learning and trust. The strategy and supporting objectives are stretching and challenging to support riders in achieving their goals without compromising their wellbeing.
Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, and had developed a psychologically safe environment where riders and staff could speak up and raise concerns to help learn and improve. Staff were highly motivated and consistently feel well-supported by leaders.
Staff and leaders actively monitored and anticipated current and future risks to delivering the best outcomes for riders as part of a world-class programme.
There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas, overseen by an independent clinical governance committee.
People's experience of this service
During the assessment, we spoke with eight riders, all of whom were positive about the care and treatment provided by the medical team. They told us how they worked together with the wider Great British Cycling team, including coaches and physiotherapists, to support riders with both their physical and mental health.
The provider had undertaken annual satisfaction surveys with their riders. The last survey in 2024 showed high levels of satisfaction.