The Care Quality Commission is working on a “special measures” regime for GP practices, the body has confirmed.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt introduced the regulation policy for provider trusts a year ago, and is today announcing details of a regime for social care providers. It has been reported he will announce one for GPs.

However, work is still under way on designing the regime for GPs, and it will not be detailed today.

CQC chief inspector of general practice Steve Field said in a statement: “We have started work on a system for what we should do to tackle inadequate GP services. This work draws on the experience from our new-style GP inspections and the data we collect and analyse about service.”

Professor Field said the CQC was “working very closely with NHS England” on it. GP representative bodies, including the British Medical Association’s GP committee, the Royal College of GPs and the General Medical Council will also be involved.

“We will make an announcement about what GP special measures could look like later in the summer,” Professor Field added.

GP practices have been regulated by the CQC since April 2013. The body unveiled a new GP inspection regime at the end of last year. It intends to inspect and assign a rating to every GP practice by April 2016.

Topics