Archived: UK Sports Institute – Bath

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective - This means we looked for evidence that care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on the best available evidence.At our last assessment, we rated this key question Requires improvement. At this assessment, the rating has changed to Good.

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’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

Information was shared with staff and other healthcare providers to enable them to deliver effective care and treatment. Referrals and pathology requests were monitored and audits were carried out to ensure results had been followed up in a timely manner. The service had appropriate safety netting arrangements in place to ensure any abnormal results were alerted and communicated to the lead clinician, in addition to the service’s electronic mailbox.

During our review of clinical records, we noted staff checked people’s health, care, and wellbeing needs during health reviews. Clinical staff comprehensive care plan templates when conducting care reviews to support the review of health and wellbeing to document and inform treatment options and decisions. The service considered the person’s medical history when planning care and treatment.

The service had met the accessible information standard to ensure all people, including those with communication needs could receive effective care and treatment. The service was able to demonstrate reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. The premises had a portable hearing loop in place for people with hearing impairments and were accessible for wheelchair users.

The service planned and delivered care and treatment with the individual, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

We reviewed a sample of records which showed people’s care and treatment was delivered effectively in line with evidence-based guidelines.

Leaders demonstrated how the service carried out regular clinical supervision to ensure clinical decisions were reflective of evidence-based good practice and required standards. We saw evidence of audits of clinical supervision which reviewed a randomised sample of treatment records on a routine basis as part of checks to ensure care, prescribing and the quality of notes was appropriate and effective. Staff told us they were supported with their professional development, such as clinical education sessions to keep up to date with national guidelines and best practice.

The service worked well across teams to support people, particularly when they moved between different services. Staff had access to the information they needed to appropriately assess, plan, and deliver care, treatment, and support.

The service worked alongside national governing bodies bespoke to each sport to support people through treatment planning and performance development as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) as well as through the Talented Athlete ScholarshipScheme. MDT meetings were held monthly with ‘Sports roundup’ bulletins sharing quarterly care and provision updates including progress of the rehabilitation and treatment.

The service had clear subject access request processes to ensure teams comprised of governance leads and legal officers reviewed and approved information prior to release. Data was secured in line with data retention schedules and information was redacted for children or for vulnerable adults when shared.

The service supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

From the records we reviewed during the inspection, we noted the service empowered and supported people to manage their own health, care and wellbeing needs by staff who understood their needs and preferences. For example, people with musculoskeletal injuries were provided with information and guidance about their conditions and were encouraged to carry out some additional rehabilitation at home where possible as part of their treatment plan to improve recovery outcomes.

The service monitored all people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they fully met both clinical expectations.

We were shown examples of quality improvement activity to demonstrate positive outcomes for people went above and beyond care and treatment standards. For example, the service had developed a brain health strategy multi-disciplinary team (MDT), which reviewed all concussion case timelines to ensure care and treatment was accurately recorded and audited. This enabled additional safety mechanisms to be implemented before people returned to play and protect people from harm as a result of their injury. The service ensured specific criteria was bespoke to various sports and age groups in line with evidence-based guidelines. We noted in an MDT meeting from March 2025, the service had made improvements to the clinical records system to include an alert to prevent clinicians from declaring people were ‘fit’ to return to play during concussion periods set by national timeframes as an additional safety feature. The service had developed a video tutorial training guide for staff on concussion care and treatment guidelines to improve record keeping. The service demonstrated the implementation of concussion injury and treatment management software within their clinical records systems to enable them to improve reporting and auditing of people’s care and we noted 122 assessments had been completed at the time of inspection.

The service had also implemented female health clinics with a dedicated specialist lead GP to monitor performance and health concerns for women during their menstruation cycle. This included the testing and analysis of hormones in saliva, which offered a non-invasive way to assess hormone levels and potential imbalances.This method provided valuable insight into various health conditions and help personalise treatment plans.

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. Staff were trained on the requirements of consent and mental capacity. From the records we reviewed during the on-site visit, people’s views and wishes were taken into account when their care was planned and the service complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People who were under the age of 18 were encouraged to attend the service with family members, next of kin or representatives from their respective national governing body. We observed chaperone notices were displayed throughout the premises, giving people the opportunity to request an additional professional to attend consultations or examinations. Staff were trained in chaperoning in line with service policy.