• Doctor
  • GP practice

Kingsbridge Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Kingsbridge Avenue, Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 3HP (01782) 525740

Provided and run by:
Kingsbridge Medical Centre

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of Assessment: 25 June 2026. Kingsbridge Medical Centre is a GP practice and delivers services to approximately 9,408 people under a contract held with NHS England. According to the latest available data, the ethnic make-up of the service area is approximately 89.7% White, 6.8% Asian, 1.5% Mixed, 0.9% Black and 1.1% Other. Information published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows deprivation within the service population group is in the 9th decile (9 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the service population is relative to others.

This was a focused assessment. We undertook this assessment due to the length of time since our last assessment. We assessed 10 quality statements from across all 5 key questions. This assessment considered the demographics of the people 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.

Staff kept facilities clean and maintained equipment appropriately to ensure people were kept safe. They assessed and managed the risk of infection well and took steps to control the risk of it spreading. However, the potential risk of overflows on sinks had not been identified or action taken to mitigate the risk. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Recruitment of staff was generally satisfactory although records did not support all staff were appropriately immunised. Systems for safe storage and tracking prescription stationery throughout the practice required improvement.

Staff supported people to live healthier lives, monitoring their care and treatment to ensure they received positive and consistent outcomes. The service exceeded the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 95% in all 5 indicators for childhood immunisations.

Staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion, and respected their privacy and dignity.

People could access care, treatment and support when they needed it. Leaders and staff were alert to discrimination and inequality that could disadvantage groups of people who used the service and sought ways to address any barriers.

The service had a clear vision and strategy, which considered the needs of the people who used their service and the wider community. Staff understood their individual roles and responsibilities. Leaders accounted for the actions, behaviours and performance of staff through clear and effective governance processes.

10 May 2017

During an inspection looking at part of the service

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We previously carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Kingsbridge Medical Centre on 11 July 2016. The overall rating for the practice was good with requires improvement in providing safe services. The full comprehensive report on the 11 July 2016 inspection can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Kingsbridge Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

This inspection was an announced focused inspection carried out on 10 May 2017 to confirm that the practice had carried out their plan to meet the legal requirements in relation to the breaches in regulations that we identified in our previous inspection on 11 July 2016. This report covers our findings in relation to those requirements and also additional improvements made since our last inspection.

Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings were as follows:

  • Improvements had been made in the recruitment of locum GPs however several gaps remained. The practice took immediate action on the day of the inspection to mitigate the gaps and updated their policy for employing agency workers to ensure the safe recruitment of future locum GPs.

  • An appropriate emergency medicine was available at the practice to treat possible complications associated with the insertion of inter uterine coils.

  • A system had been implemented to monitor and follow up children who did not attend hospital appointments.

  • A system had been put in place to regularly monitor fridge temperatures to ensure vaccines were stored within the manufacture’s recommended temperature range.

  • A protocol for dealing with uncollected prescriptions had been developed and implemented.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

The provider should:

  • Date all policies to ensure policies are reviewed and updated within an appropriate time frame.

  • Ensure the updated policy for the employment of agency workers is fully implemented.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

11/07/2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Kingsbridge Medical Practice on 11 July 2016. Overall the practice is rated as good.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

  • There was an open and transparent approach to safety and an effective system in place for reporting and recording significant events.

  • Most risks to patients were assessed and well managed.
  • Staff assessed patients’ needs and delivered care in line with current evidence based guidance. Staff had been trained to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and treatment.
  • Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • Information about services and how to complain was available and easy to understand. Improvements were made to the quality of care as a result of complaints and concerns.
  • Not all patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP.
  • The practice had good facilities and was well equipped to treat patients and meet their needs.
  • There was a clear leadership structure and staff felt supported by management. The practice proactively sought feedback from staff and patients, which it acted on.
  • The provider was aware of and complied with the requirements of the duty of candour.

We saw one area of outstanding practice:

The practice was involved in an innovative over 75’s project. The practice offered a face-to-face home visit for all patients over 85 years, and for all patients who scored highly in a screening questionnaire. A nurse carried out a two hour holistic biopsychosocial assessment. In 2015-2016, 307 visits were carried out. As a result of these visits, a total of 74 referrals had been made to services such as social services, memory clinic, falls clinic and physiotherapy. The practice had assisted 129 patients with making benefit claims and assisted 61 patients to apply for their blue parking badge.

However, there were also areas of practice where the provider needs to make improvements.

Importantly, the provider must:

  • When employing locum GPs, have systems in place to assure that all appropriate recruitment checks have been carried out, either by themselves or by the locum GP agency.

  • Have medicines available to treat possible complications associated with inter uterine coil fitting (atropine) as per good practice guidelines.

In addition the provider should:

  • Develop and implement a robust system to follow up and document outcomes for monitoring children who do not attend hospital appointments.

  • Regularly monitor fridge temperatures to ensure vaccines are stored within the manufacture’s recommended temperature..

  • Develop and implement a protocol for dealing with uncollected prescriptions.

Professor Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice