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…

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:…

The latest round of CQC inspection results has been released. Overall the performance of GP practices has been positive, with 85 practices out of the 109 inspected rated good. Two practices received outstanding ratings while, more worryingly, eight were rated inadequate. From the most recent inspections, what did the inspectors love and what did they…

Guest post by Practice Manager Nicola Hayward. This has got to be the mother of all rants possible… if I say those three little letters C, Q and C, do your hackles automatically rise? Does your blood pressure go up by 100? Does that vein in your neck start to pulsate with rage?! I’ve read this…