PERFORMANCE: The primary care trust has been named as the only area in the country to pilot the extension of the Care Quality Commission’s registration system to general practices.
Around 20 practices will trial a system to be introduced by the CQC from 1 April 2012 requiring all GP surgeries to meet the essential standards of quality and safety that have already been applied to other settings such acute trusts.
Jayne Stringfellow, assistant clinical director for NHS Derbyshire County, said: “It’s a real privilege that Derbyshire has been chosen to pilot this scheme on behalf of general practice. By their very nature GP surgeries have very different needs from other NHS clinical settings so this is a great opportunity for us to work with our practices and share our expertise to make sure the process supports them and their patients.”
From 1 April 2012 the essential standards of quality and safety that GPs need to meet fall under five broad categories – “involvement and information”, “personalised care, treatment and support”, “safeguarding and safety”, “suitability of staffing” and “quality and management”.
A toolkit designed to give GPs more guidance on legal terminology and a quick reference guide to the CQC registration process is currently being developed by the British Medical Association.
Source date
5 May 2011
No comments yet