On 22 June 2022, the UK’s Health authorities declared a national incident regarding the detection of the polio virus in London sewage and as such, have informed the World Health Organisation (“WHO”). This is following the United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency (“UKHSA”) finding traces of the polio virus in samples collected from the London Beckton …
Earlier this year the British Social Attitudes (“BSA”) survey found that public satisfaction with GP services had hit its lowest point since the survey first began in 1983. Satisfaction with GP services dropped to 65% in 2017 – down seven percentage points compared with the previous year, and the biggest one-year change since the survey …
Low Patient satisfaction could lead to increase in complaints and CQC inspections Read More »
On 14 April 2022, the Government introduced new ‘stepping down’ rules which apply to NHS hospitals, GP surgeries and emergency departments. As part of these rules, in England, there is no longer a requirement for patients to socially distance in waiting rooms. This is demonstrative of the Government’s ‘Living with COVID-19’ approach that they are …
Patients in waiting rooms in England are no longer required to socially distance Read More »
Over the last two years, many have predicted that there would be an upsurge in GP complaints, owing to the changes in working practices to cope with COVID-19. This article explores what primary medical service providers can do to strengthen their complaints processes with the aim of avoiding falling foul of Regulations 16 and 17 …
How does the CQC expect practices to handle complaints? Read More »
Under the CQC’s current approach to focusing inspection activity where they deem there to be a risk, GP practices can expect to start experiencing more negative on-site inspections than they might have been used to, and enforcement activity could become more common. The CQC has various powers of enforcement but one of the most draconian …
By now GP practices will be used to the familiar feeling of the arrival of a team of CQC inspectors. A nervous couple of days will follow where every aspect of the practice is run over with a fine tooth comb. Data will be scrutinised, patient experience analysed and key staff members interviewed. The inspection …
Practice makes perfect: How to manage CQC inspections Read More »
Our lawyers Anna-Maria Lemmer and Maddi Gaunt considered the development of CQC’s new strategy and monitoring approach, as well as how to handle CQC inspections
The latest NHS announcement published on the 14th October 2021 placed a greater emphasis on the need for improving access for patients and supporting general practice with a £250m winter access fund to aid in the forthcoming November to March months. However, in a news article published the same day by the Royal College of …
Focus on access ignores the other fundamental challenges that GP’s in the UK are facing Read More »
Any individual, partnership or organisation providing a regulated activity in England must be registered with the CQC. This means that GP practices and independent consulting doctors are required to be registered with the CQC. Online primary care services in England which deliver a regulated activity by online means (via text, sound, images or other digital …
GP Practices & Online Primary Care Services – CQC registration Read More »
The CQC’s focus on ‘Smarter Regulation’ in its new strategy includes a risk-based model of inspection. This model could lead to a much greater focus on GP practices that are perceived as ‘risky’ by the CQC, which could in turn lead to an increase in enforcement action. At Ridouts, we are already seeing an increase …
What happens if the CQC wants to vary a practice’s conditions of registration? Read More »
Ridouts is a team of specialist health and social care lawyers, providing dedicated legal advice for care homes, GP practices, children’s homes, dental practices, domiciliary and home care agencies, supported and independent living services and both private and NHS hospitals.
info@ridout-law.com • +44 (0) 207 317 0340
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