The vast majority of GP practices have now registered with the CQC, but 1,545 declared non-compliance with at least one part of the regulations.
Practices that registered non-compliant had to submit action plans setting out a timetable for becoming compliant, and GP leaders have hit out at the costs they face to do so.
GPC negotiator Dr Peter Holden told GP: ‘General practice has been starved of capital for a long time, we can’t keep investing without resources.’
He said he had recently signed a cheque for £1,100 for CRB checks for practice staff that were necessary to comply with CQC rules, and estimated that his practice had spent between £10,000 and £20,000 to meet the watchdog’s requirements.
A CQC spokesman said the two biggest areas of non compliance were around premises and infection control.
Dr Holden added: ‘We are now supporting a whole regulatory industry designed to lower unemployment, not protect patients. None of this would have stopped Shipman.’
