GP practices in England will have to register with the Care Quality Commission by April 2013, the Department of Health has confirmed.
Registration had originally been scheduled for April 2012 and will now be delayed for one year.
GP leaders campaigned recently for it to be introduced even later than 2013 to avoid clashing with the introduction of revalidation and GPs assuming responsibility for commissioning.
In their response to the consultation, the BMA’s General Practitioners Committee (GPC) said: “We have concerns about the capacity of the CQC to manage the registration and compliance of all primary medical services providers from April 2013, and would suggest that consideration is given to a more flexible approach.”
But the DoH said registration with the CQC would go ahead in April 2013, as set out in its consultation proposals published in June. Out of hours providers that are not GP practices looking after their own patients will still be expected to register with the CQC by April 2012.
A DoH spokesperson said: “These decisions have been made after discussions with the CQC and a public consultation when 96 per cent of respondents supported the proposal to delay the registration of GP practices by a year. This will enable the CQC time to focus on its core business of providing assurance of safety and quality for patients.”
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