New CQC inspection framework could ‘overwhelm’ practices, RCGP warns

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By Emma Wilkinson

A new draft framework from the Care Quality Commission for primary care inspections risks overwhelming practices, is too vague in it its expectations and does not recognise the pressures are working under, the Royal College of General Practitioners has warned.

In a consultation response to the draft proposals, the RCGP said the framework “spans 60 pages of dense descriptors with relatively vague expectations on how providers will be assessed”.

While the college welcomed the CQC’s “intention to bring greater clarity and transparency” to general practice assessment, it said there was a “genuine risk” the volume of material would “overwhelm smaller or disadvantaged GP practices”.

Practices are working under severe workforce and funding pressures and time spent navigating lengthy assessment processes, is time “diverted from patient care”, the RCGP said in its response.

The college also noted that qualitative judgements included in the framework, such as whether a safety culture within a practice is ‘fully embedded’ versus ‘inconsistent’, “remain inherently subjective” and need further clarification.