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Poll: Should a 'failure regime' be introduced for poorly performing GP practices?

GP services which are not providing adequate care to patients could be shut down, health regulators have announced.

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Poorly performing practices will be put into a new failure regime and those that don't improve will face closure, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said.

GP surgeries will receive Ofsted-style ratings - where they are deemed to be outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate - and those that are given the lowest rating face being put into special measures. If they fail to make improvements following this they could be shut down.

Inspectors will assess whether England's 8,300 GP practices are safe, effective, caring, responsive to people's needs and whether or not they are well led.

CQC's chief inspector of general practice Professor Steve Field said that from October this year failing practices will face being put special measures .

He said he wanted to "call time on poor care".

When parts of a GP practice's service are deemed to be inadequate they will have six months to improve their services and if after this deadline they have failed to get better they will be put into special measures.

If after another six months the practice has shown no signs of improvement, they could have their registration with the health regulator cancelled or their contract terminated by NHS England - meaning that they would be forced to close.

Those that are performing exceptionally badly will be immediately put into the failure regime, CQC said.

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