England's Chief Inspector of General Practice, Professor Steve Field, is inviting people in England to tell him and his inspectors what they think of their GP out-of-hours services.
This month we start inspecting all GP providers of NHS out-of-hours services in England, using our new approach to inspection.
In the first three months of 2014, we'll inspect 27 out-of-hours providers. The first four services to be inspected in January are:
- Bedford on Call Limited
- NEMS Community Benefit Services Limited, Nottingham
- South Doc Services Limited, Selly Oak
- South Essex Emergency Doctors Service
All GP providers of NHS out-of-hours services will be inspected by June 2014.
The new inspection teams will be led by expert inspectors with clinical input led by GPs. The teams will include an inspector, a GP, a nurse or a practice manager and a trainee GP. They may also include an Expert by Experience – someone who uses a GP practice or has a particular experience of care.
The inspectors will look at how well the service responds to patients’ needs and consider the quality of communication between out-of-hours care and other local services, including GP practices, care homes and emergency services.
Anyone who wishes to give their views to the inspection team can do this in a number of ways:
- Contact us online
- By email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk
- By letter: CQC, Citygate, Gallowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4PA
- By phone: 03000 61 61 61
Inspections of GP surgeries will begin after April 2014 and every GP surgery in England will have been inspected and rated by April 2016.
Find out more
Read full details about how we will inspect and regulate GPs and GP out-of-hours services below.
A fresh start for the regulation and inspection of GP practices and GP out-of-hours services