The Great Britain Cycling Team Medical Facility

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

We looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

This is the first inspection for this service since its registration with CQC. This key question has been rated as Good.

This service scored 81 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The Great Britain Cycling Team Medical Facility (the Medical Facility) demonstrated a strong, proactive and positive culture of safety. Leaders embedded, maintained, and continually improved a culture of openness and collaboration, where safety remained everyone’s top priority. They learned from significant events, complaints, audit findings, and feedback from staff, riders, and the wider Great Britain cycling professionals who worked alongside the medical team. Leaders listened to safety concerns and investigated and reported safety events.

Systems and resources, including the entire GB cycling team, specialist independent board members, and access to field experts, enabled the provider to embed continuous learning in response to identified safety risks. They incorporated systematic approaches to learning and improvement, which supported active, participatory learning processes and quality improvement.

Leaders actively encouraged and rewarded all staff within the Medical Facility for raising safety concerns and suggesting improvements. They continually demonstrated and reinforced the value of learning. The Medical Facility also shared relevant learning with other sport professionals and, where appropriate, provided guidance to the public and community-level sport coaches to improve grassroots facilities. This included a video on concussion, created by the Chief Medical Officer, which was made freely available on the website.

The service collaborated with individuals and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care, where safety was actively managed and monitored. Staff ensured continuity of care, including during transitions between different services. When riders joined the World Class Programme, the medical team provided care alongside mandatory cardiology screening and referrals where required to respiratory screening with a specialist. Riders also registered with a local GP and dentist to secure access to primary care. Additionally, the service worked with private and specialist healthcare providers when riders required diagnostic or treatment services through their private medical schemes.

The service collaborated with riders and healthcare partners to understand what safety meant to them and the best ways to achieve it. Staff focused on improving riders’ lives while protecting their right to live safely—free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. They shared concerns quickly and appropriately.

Staff followed safeguarding policies that were well-known and understood. They were appropriately trained in safeguarding procedures and acted on concerns in partnership with other organisations. The safeguarding lead maintained oversight of all concerns raised and attended monthly multidisciplinary psychological well-being meetings alongside the medical team, where riders’ well-being was reviewed.

All staff completed enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks and undertook safeguarding training appropriate to their roles.

The service collaborated with riders to understand and manage risks holistically. Staff delivered care that met riders’ needs and ensured their safety. They fostered a transparent and open culture that encouraged creative thinking around riders’ physical and mental safety.

Riders took positive risks, exercised control over their treatment, and maximised their performance without compromising their wellbeing by working with the medical team, which included physiotherapists and wider GB cycling professionals such as a nutritionist and coaches.

The service consistently applied person-centred care and led in the care and treatment of female riders, including support for riders pre- and post-pregnancy. The provider created a positive culture that supported the prevention of sport-related injuries. The team engendered trust between riders, the wider GB cycling team, and other professionals across different sporting disciplines.

Staff recognised signs of deterioration in the health of riders and took appropriate action. Riders attended regular reviews with medical team members. When riders had long-term health conditions or injuries, staff advised them on associated risks and actions aligned with their performance plans. Staff also ensured riders carried all prescribed medicines during events in case their condition worsened.

Staff maintained emergency equipment and kept it readily available. However, during cycling events, event healthcare teams were responsible for emergency healthcare, and this aspect was outside the scope of this inspection. The medical team remained on call to assist and offered advice and guidance either by telephone or in person. Staff followed clear protocols when riders sustained concussions during training or events and promptly provided concussion plans. When the medical team were alerted to potential concussions, they sent information immediately to riders and coaches on what to do in the first 24 to 48 hours.

The service designed the environment to meet the needs of world-class riders, and the facilities reflected this. The medical team collaborated with GB cycling experts to ensure that the facilities, premises and equipment protected the welfare of riders. For example, they provided quiet spaces where riders could continue training while recovering from a concussion.

The facilities and specific clinical rooms enabled the medical team to deliver effective and innovative care and to keep riders safe from physical and psychological harm. Staff ensured that equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

The provider put contracts in place to maintain the premises. Staff conducted health and safety risk assessments and audits, identified risks, and addressed them. They also monitored and reviewed a business continuity plan to ensure service resilience.

The service ensured there were always enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received thorough support, supervision and strong development opportunities. Staff worked together effectively to provide safe care that met the individual needs of riders.

The Medical Facility included a range of clinical and non-clinical roles, and was led by a chief medical officer, who practiced as a consultant in sport and exercise medicine. The team consisted of a second doctor and three physiotherapists, including a lead physiotherapist for para-riders. The medical services manager supported the medical team.

Inspectors found that training was up to date, staff learning needs and development were managed appropriately, and staff worked within their agreed areas of competence. The service followed safe recruitment practices.

The service thoroughly assessed and managed the risk of infection. Staff quickly detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly.

Infection prevention and control (IPC) formed a critical element of the service provisions and the wider GB Cycling facilities. The medical team identified that general day-to-day infections were the main cause of illness among riders, so they implemented strict IPC protocols both on-site and when travelling to competitions. IPC also formed part of the riders' induction into the world-class programme.

The Chief Medical Officer was the designated IPC lead and all staff have completed relevant training. Staff followed cleaning schedules, conducted risk assessments and audits, and took actions to mitigate risks.

The service ensured that medicines and treatments were safe and met riders’ needs, capacities and preferences. Staff involved riders in planning their care, including when changes occurred.

The medical team ensured treatments were safe and aligned with riders' individual needs. They collaborated with riders during care planning and adjusted treatment when necessary. The Medical Facility did not prescribe medicines directly and did not store any medicines on-site except for those required in a medical emergency, which staff stored and managed correctly.

When specialist medicines were required, the medical team liaised with the pharmacist on the clinical governance committee. They also ensured that all prescribed medicines requiring a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) permit were appropriately authorised. A TUE allowed riders to use otherwise prohibited substances or methods for therapeutic purposes while continuing to compete.

The independent clinical governance committee maintained clinical governance standards across the Medical Facility, including oversight of medicines management.