Doctors’ leaders have condemned proposals for “exorbitant” increases in Care Quality Commission fees charged to GPs. The fee increases will hit small practices hardest. A practice with one location and up to 10,000 patients will see a seven-fold increase in fees in two years, according to the British Medical Association. This will mean them paying…

Over the Christmas period it was announced that a further 50 or so CCGs have been authorised to take on delegated responsibility for commissioning GP services from April. They join the 65 CCGs who did so in April 2015 and, subject to the completion of paperwork, it means over half of all CCGs will be commissioning the…

Continuing our look at CQC inspections and what makes a practice outstanding, the spotlight this time falls on Compass House Medical Centres in Brixham, Devon, who recently received an outstanding rating. The practice operates from two sites – one in Brixham and one in Galmpton – and it was the Brixham location that inspectors visited.…

Professor Steven Field CBE Chief Inspector of General Practice Care Quality Commision Citygate Gallowgate NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE NE1 4PA 9th December 2015 An Open Letter to Professor Field CBE Dear Professor Field, I, along with many of my colleagues in Primary Care, am concerned regarding the proposed increase of fees paid to the Care Quality…

So, a couple of weeks ago, I had a small rant about CQC and the extortionate increase in fees of some 567% to be exact! As a result of that rant, and a couple of conversations here and there with the Powers-What-Be at Practice Index, I agreed to grab the bull by the horns and…

When welcoming the team of CQC Inspectors to the surgery, no doubt you will have some questions to ask them. Who are they? What are their credentials? What experience have they of general practice? What can they ask you about and what rights do they have when asking you questions? However, you will find that…

Dear Colleagues, I have created the petition “Keep CQC registration fees reasonable” and wanted to ask if you would add your name too. This campaign means a lot to me and the more support we can get behind it, the better chance we have of succeeding. You can read more and sign the petition here:…