The Care Quality Commission
  • Doctor
  • GP practice

Kimbolton Medical Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Hunters Way, Newtown, Kimbolton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 0JF (01480) 860205

Provided and run by:
Kimbolton Medical Centre

All Inspections

19 October 2023

During a routine inspection

We previously inspected this practice in 2016. We carried out this announced comprehensive inspection at Kimbolton Medical Centre on 19 October 2023. Overall, the practice is rated as good.

Safe - good

Effective - good

Caring - good

Responsive - good

Well-led - good

The full reports for previous inspections can be found by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Kimbolton Medical Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we carried out this inspection

We carried out this inspection in line with our inspection priorities.

How we carried out the inspection/review

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site.

This included :

  • Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing.
  • Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system (this was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements).
  • Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider.
  • Requesting evidence from the provider.
  • A short site visit.

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

  • what we found when we inspected
  • information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
  • information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We found that:

  • The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
  • Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
  • Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect and involved them in decisions about their care.
  • Patients could access care and treatment in a timely way.
  • The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

  • Continue the implementation of a strengthened review process for patients diagnosed with asthma.
  • Take steps to implement a system for coding patients who may require an annual health and medicines review, for example, patients who are receiving input from secondary care.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Sean O’Kelly BSc MB ChB MSc DCH FRCA

Chief Inspector of Health Care

19 April 2016

During a routine inspection

Letter from the Chief Inspector of General Practice

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Kimbolton Medical Centre on 19 April 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.
  • Risks to patients were thoroughly 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.
  • Feedback from patients about their care was consistently positive. Patients said they were treated with compassion, dignity and respect and they were involved in their care and decisions about their treatment.
  • The caring attitude of staff was recognised in National GP Patient Survey data from January 2016, which showed that patients rated the practice higher than others for several aspects of care. For example, 100% of patients surveyed described their overall experience of the practice as good. This was higher than the CCG average of 86% and the national average of 85%.
  • 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.
  • Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment with a named GP and there was continuity of care, with urgent appointments available the same day.
  • 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 well 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 several areas of outstanding practice including:

  • Staff were motivated and inspired to offer kind and compassionate care and worked to overcome obstacles to achieving this. For example, staff were keen to help patients from the travelling community. A member of staff from the practice visited a local travellers’ site to remind patients of appointments. Patients from the travelling community were able to arrange their appointments for a time when they would be in the local area.
  • The practice had an engaged patient participation group (PPG) which influenced practice development. The PPG had worked with the practice to set up a weekly relaxation therapy course for patients wth anxiety. This was run by a local therapist and patients could self refer into this service. Furthermore, the practice had recently held a mental health and wellbeing evening, which included talks from local services including Cambridgeshire MIND and the Samaritans.
  • The PPG had engaged with various organisations including students at the local boarding school to recruit members. As a result, the practice had two members of student age active within the PPG, providing representation for their population group.

r Steve Field (CBE FRCP FFPH FRCGP) 

Chief Inspector of General Practice

05 September 2014

During a routine inspection

Kimbolton Medical Centre provides primary medical services to patients in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire and the surrounding areas. The practice is led by five general practitioners (GPs) who form the partnership management team. One of the partners is the registered provider of services at the practice.

We spoke with patients during our inspection, who were complimentary about the services they had received from the practice. We also received many positive comments from patients who had completed comment cards prior to our inspection. All patients expressed a high level of satisfaction with the practice and the staff. Staff we spoke with told us that the management team were supportive, open and approachable.

The practice was well-led and provided caring, effective and responsive services to a wide range of patient groups, including those of working age and recently retired, mothers, babies, children and young people, patients with long term conditions and complex needs, people in vulnerable circumstances and people who were experiencing poor mental health.