During an assessment under our new approach
Keele Practice is a GP practice and delivers service to 6,521 people under a contract held with NHS England. Keele Practice is part of North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust’s (NSCHT) primary care directorate. It has 3 other practices in the directorate, Moorcroft Medical in Stoke-on-Trent, Moss Green in Bentilee (branch site) and Holmcroft in Stafford. The directorate delivers GP services to 31,000 general practice patients across all 4 practice sites. Keele Practice is located within Keele University Campus.
The National General Practice Profiles states the practice demographic as: 86.2% White, 2.5% Mixed, 7.3% Asian, 2.6%, Black and 1.4% Other.
Information published by Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows that deprivation within the practice population group is in the 8 decile (8 of 10). The lower the decile, the more deprived the practice population is relative to others. 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.
The service had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly. People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks. Overall, the provider had effective systems and processes in place to maintain a safe and well-managed environment. Governance and oversight arrangements supported the identification, monitoring and mitigation of environmental and health and safety risks. Following our onsite visit evidence of remedial actions were provided promptly. Improvements included fire safety enhancements and the installation of a wireless fire alarm system. A risk assessment update was required for the first-floor stairwell bannister area. Actions arising from a 2025 Legionella risk assessment were being monitored, with a further review planned for August 2026.The practice worked collaboratively with relevant estates teams to maintain the premises and plan for the long-term sustainability of the estate. This did not detract from the overall assurance that risks were well understood and managed. Business continuity arrangements were well established and regularly reviewed, supporting organisational resilience and continuity of service delivery.