RCGP responds to CQC’s ethnic minority report

The Royal College of GPs has responded to the CQC’s latest report ‘Ethnic minority-led GP practices: impact and experience of CQC regulation’

Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the following. “We know from extensive feedback from our own members that GPs from ethnic minorities are facing considerable challenges with inspections. In November 2020, the College wrote to the Care Quality Commission to establish how concerns were being addressed, followed by a roundtable debate in which ethnic minority GPs shared their experiences of having their practices inspected by the CQC.

“Today’s research is a useful first step in addressing the College’s calls for action but there is still much to do to build the trust and confidence of all GPs in the inspection system, and particularly GPs from ethnic communities.

“It is essential that we see more progress on data linking ethnicity to ratings but acknowledge the efforts that CQC has made to explore the lived experiences of GPs and the recommendations it is proposing for its own organisation and the wider system. We now need swift action to put these recommendations in place so that inequalities can start to be properly addressed.

“We will continue to work constructively with CQC, NHSE and other relevant bodies towards an improved system of inspection that keeps patients safe and is supportive of all GPs, taking into account the specific challenges of GP teams working in ethnic minority-led practices.”