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From 1 April 2013, NHS GP providers in England will be regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the first time.

Changes to regulations mean primary medical care services including GP providers are required to register with the CQC. 

Of the 7,607 providers that applied, 99.4% (7,563) have been registered in time for the April deadline. 

To date, CQC has proposed to refuse to register a total of eight GP providers.

Of these:

• two providers who have worked with their PCTs and removed themselves from providing primary medical services; the PCT has reassigned patients to alternative practices.
• one provider, in response to CQC’s proposal to not register, has made changes to their legal entity resulting in a new application which has been accepted and registration granted.
• the remaining five are still within the statutory time frame for challenging the Commission’s proposals.

CQC’s Head of Registration, Adrian Hughes said: 

“Registration of GP providers has been a tremendous success with just under 100% of those who applied registered in time for the April deadline.  

“We would like to thank GP practice staff - their cooperation over the last year has made the process go very smoothly. 

“CQC’s purpose is to ensure people receive health and social care services that are safe and of high quality.

“For the first time there will be a register of all GP providers in England held in one place; it can be seen on the CQC website from 3 April. This means patients will be able to check if their practice is providing good quality safe services.”

“GP registration is the final phase of a vast programme spanning the last three years, of registering a range of health and social care services.”

Information on NHS GP providers can be found on our website.

Notes to editors

There are 44 applications which were received on or just before 31 March 2013 and these are being progressed. As these arrived within the required time frame, the providers are legally protected and can continue to provide services to patients.

The Commission is in discussion with forty three other providers to see if they are eligible for registration.

Two of the three providers who have been subject to proposals to refuse registration, have worked with their PCTs and removed themselves from the provision of primary medical services. The PCT has reassigned patients to alternative PCs. One provider has considered the action proposed and made changes to their legal entity resulting in a new application which has been accepted and registration granted. The remaining five are still within the statutory time frame for challenging the Commission’s proposals.

The application process began in July 2012. All registered GP providers will have a page on the CQC website giving the latest information about any inspections carried out at their practices

About the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. We make sure that care in hospitals, dental practices, ambulances, care homes, people’s own homes and elsewhere meets national standards of quality and safety – the standards anyone should expect whenever or wherever they receive care. We also protect the interests of vulnerable people, including those whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.

We register services if they meet national standards, we make unannounced inspections of services – both on a regular basis and in response to concerns – and we carry out investigations into why care fails to improve. We continually monitor information from our inspections, from information we collect nationally and locally, and from the public, local groups, care workers and whistleblowers. We put the views, experiences, health and wellbeing of people who use services at the centre of our work and we have a range of powers we can use to take action if people are getting poor care.