Bulletin 15.09.2015
CQC Duty of Candour
The CQC Duty of candour came into effect for all GP practices on 1 April 2015 and is covered in this myth-buster. This is covered by Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 which sets out all of the Fundamental Standards. It aims to ensure that providers are open and honest with people when something goes wrong with their care and treatment. When a service is meeting the duty of candour patients should expect:
- A culture within the service that is open and honest at all levels.
- To be told in a timely manner when certain safety incidents have happened.
- To receive a written and truthful account of the incident and an explanation about any enquiries and investigations that the service will make.
- To receive an apology in writing.
- Reasonable support if they were directly affected by the incident.
If the service fails to do any of these things, CQC can take immediate legal action against that provider.
National Occupational Health Service for GPs
You may have seen the recent announcements (pillar 2) by NHS England about plans for a national occupational health service scheduled to start 1 April 2016 for GPs suffering from burnout and stress. We do not know the full details of this proposal but it is suggested it will provide specialist support and build on a number of existing, successful programmes elsewhere in the country. CLMC will continue to work with both CCGs with regard to GP health and retention and the proposals will be factored into our discussions. However, it is considered by CLMC and the GPC that these proposals do not go far enough as they focus on treatment rather than prevention. All GPs should be offered a comprehensive service – not just those who are stressed or burnt-out; it is as crucial to prevent ill health as it is to treat it, and services that meet the unique needs for the provision of GPs, who may at times have concerns about seeing other local GP colleagues are incredibly important.
GP Earnings & Expenses Enquiry Report 2013/14
The GP Earnings and Expenses Enquiry Report 2013/14 has been published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Please note, the main figure used in the report is that of the average of combined GPs (contractor and salaried), rather than that for contractor GPs which has been the case formerly. It is also important to note that at a time of rising workload, GP income has fallen by around 2.1% year after year in real terms since 2004/5. It is also important to be aware that, in contrast to published NHS pay for other NHS staff, the figures for GP income include non-NHS income.