1

Checking your GP for the careyou should expect to get

Easy Read version of:What standards you have a right to expectfrom the regulation of your GP practice

What is in this paper page

About this leaflet 1

About the Care Quality Commission 2

Registering and checking GP services 5

What to expect from your GP service 6

What to do if your GP service is notmeeting the standards 13

How we do our job 17

Telling you about GP services 19

How to contact CQC 24

1

About this leaflet

This leaflet is for anyone who getstreatment or care from a GP service inEngland.

It says:

· what care you should get

· what to do if you get bad care

· how we make sure GPs stick to ourstandards or rules about good safecare

Standards are the things that all GPservices must do well enough. If GPservices meet these standards theyshould be giving people good care andsupport.

· what we can do if they break theserules.

2

About the Care QualityCommission

We are the Care Quality Commission

We check all health and adult social careservices in England.

We are independent and not part of theGovernment.

We check services run by:

· the NHS

· local councils

· private companies

· voluntary groups.

We look after the rights of people whoneed extra support, including peopletreated under a law called the MentalHealth Act.

3

As well as GP services we also look atother services like:

· dental practices

· hospitals

· ambulance services

· mental health services

4

· care in residential homes and nursinghomes

· agencies that give care in your ownhome.

We think about people who use health andadult social care services in everything wedo.

We act quickly to stop bad care.

5

Registering and checking GPservices

The law says that all GP services inEngland must make sure their servicesmeet the national care standards.

We register GP services. This means weput their name on a list if they show thatthey meet these standards. Only GPs onthis list can run services.

We check that GP services are meeting thestandards. We can check at any time if wethink they are giving bad care.

If a GP service does not meet thestandards, we can tell them to changethings and then check them again.

The next pages tell you more about thestandards you should get from your GPservice.

6

What to expect from your GPservice

1. Your GP service should respectyou, involve you and tell youwhat is happening:

· they will involve you or someone whocan speak for you when they talk aboutyour treatment or care

· they will support you if you need help tomake decisions

· they will respect you, keep thingsprivate and treat you in the way youwant to be treated

· they will ask if you agree to treatmentbefore they give it to you.

7

For example:

Aneesa and her family do not understandEnglish very well and find it easier to useUrdu.

Her GP has information about differenttreatments in other languages.

This means Aneesa can understand andagree to the medicine her doctor wants togive her daughter for a sore throat.

2. Your GP service should give youthe right care, treatment andsupport that meets your needs:

· they should find out the best way togive you good, safe care and supportyour rights

· you and your GP should agree whatcare will keep you healthy and well

8

· they should work with other servicesand share information to make sure youget the healthcare you need

· staff will respect your culture and thelanguage you speak, your age, whetheryou are a man or a woman, whetheryou are gay, lesbian, straight orbisexual, your religion, belief ordisability.

For example:

Andy is 65 years old and went to his doctorbecause he had bad indigestion and couldnot swallow properly.

His doctor thought he might have stomachcancer and asked the hospital if he couldsee a doctor who knows about cancer.

When Andy went to the hospital, they hadall the information from his doctor to helpthem find out what was wrong with him.

9

3. Your GP service should keep yousafe

· they will care for you somewhere cleanwhere you do not get germs orinfections

· they will safely give you the rightmedicines you need, when you needthem

· they will treat you in a safe building thatis easy for you to get into and getaround

· they will not hurt you by using thewrong equipment or equipment that isnot safe

· you GP service will act quickly if theythink a patient is not safe or might gethurt.

10

For example:

A GP service is in a building with verynarrow stairs and they cannot fit a lift.

They visit patients at home if they cannotget up the stairs.

They warn new patients about the stairsand tell them about other doctors theycould go to in better buildings.

4. Staff will have the right skills todo their job

· staff should have the right skills,experience and training to look afteryou and keep you well

· there will always be enough staff toprovide the safe care you need

11

· managers will support staff properlyand help them learn new things and dotheir jobs better.

For example:

Lots of doctors and nurses work in a largeGP service.

The service checks it has enough staff forthe patients and finds out how long peoplehave to wait.

This means most people see a doctor ornurse when they should do.

12

5. Your GP service should checkhow it is doing

· they should check their services aregood and give you the care you need

· they should make sure they have theright information about you and keepyour personal information safe

· you, or someone who speaks for you,can complain

· your GP service must sort out yourcomplaint in the right way.

For example:

The doctors who run a large GP servicewant to make sure patients get better care.They ask people to tell them what theythink about their services and they tellpeople how to complain.

Each month the doctors meet to talk aboutwhat people say about their services andagree what needs to change. There isinformation on their website about whatpatients say and what the service is doingto make things better.

13

What to do if your GP serviceis not meeting the standards

There are 2 things you can do:

1. Tell the GP service about it or complainto them.

2. Tell us about it.

Telling your GP service

You should start by talking to the PracticeManager.

If you cannot sort things out you can makea formal complaint. All GP services musthave a planned way to deal withcomplaints.

14

If you are not happy with the way your GPservice deals with a complaint about NHScare, you can contact the Parliamentaryand Health Service Ombudsman.

Telephone:0345 015 4033

You can get a leaflet about your rights fromthis website:www.nhs.uk/NHSConstitution

If you are not happy with the way your GPservices deals with a complaint about pri-vate treatment (treatment you pay for), youcan contact the Independent HealthcareAdvisory Services (IHAS) at:www.independenthealthcare.org.uk

You can also contact the General MedicalCouncil (GMC)

Telephone:0161 923 6602

Website:www.gmc-uk.org

15

Telling us

We cannot look into complaints or sortthings out for you but it helps us do our jobif we know about poor care.

You can tell us about problems even if youdo not want to complain to your GPservice.

This can help us decide which services tocheck and when to check them.

We also want to hear about good care.

You can tell us by filling in the Share yourexperience form on our website:www.cqc.org.uk

16

Other ways to contact us

Telephone:03000 616161

Write to:Care Quality CommissionCitygateGallowgateNewcastle upon TyneNE1 4PA

Talk to your local Healthwatch team.

17

How we do our job

When we check GP services we:

· talk to people about what their care islike

· look at paperwork and the way they dothings

· try to involve people who have used GPservices in checking them.

If a GP service is not meeting thestandards, we can:

· ask them to tell us how they will makethings better

· write to warn them that this is veryserious

18

· make them pay a fine (money)

· take their name off the list of peoplewho can run GP services.

We put information on our website aboutany services we have asked to changethings:

www.cqc.org.uk

We will also use our website to let peopleknow when services put things right.

X

19

Telling you about GP services

Find out how well your GP service meetsour standards by:

· going to our website:

www.cqc.org.uk

· asking your friends, family or supportworkers to check our website.

You can find the GP service you arelooking for by typing in its name or thearea where it is.

· using our lists of all GP services andhow they meet our standards. Thismeans you can check how well yourGP service is doing.

20

You can also ask us to send you:

· information and reports about any GPservice

· our newsletter every month.

You can get leaflets about what care youshould get from:

· hospitals

· care homes

Report

21

· in your own home

· your dental practice.

There is also a leaflet about how tocomplain about a health or social careservice.

22

23

24

How to contact CQC

Telephone our Customer Care Team on:

03000 616161

Email:

enquiries@cqc.org.uk

Write to:

CQCCitygateGallowgateNewcastle upon TyneNE1 4PA

Follow us on Twitter:

@CareQualityComm

Please tell us if you would like this information in adifferent language or format.

Artwork is from the Valuing People Clipart collectionand cannot be used anywhere else without writtenpermission from Inspired Services Publishing Ltd.

To contact Inspired Services: www.inspiredservices.org.uk

This publication is printed on paper made from a minimum of75% recycled fibre.