The proposals to increase GPs CQC fees six-fold will be “robustly challenged” by the British Medical Association (BMA), the organisation has announced.
At a time of financial challenges the BMA said that this could be “the final straw for many practices.”
A single location GP practice could have to pay £2,574 in 2016/17 and £4,839 in 2017/18, rising from £725 in 2015/16. While the Department of Health has pledged £15 million to help with these costs, it is unclear is financial help will be available the other years.
Chaand Nagpaul, BMA GP committee chair (pictured), said: “Requiring GPs to pay more for an imposed system they do not have confidence in adds insult to injury and will do nothing to repair the poor standing of the CQC with the GP profession at large.
“This significant financial burden could be the final straw for many GPs and practices, with many already having to cope with swingeing cuts to their core budgets and escalating costs of keeping a practice open,” he added.
The reason for the price increase is that the commission is “expected to move to compliance with the government policy of setting fees that fully cover our chargeable costs,” the consultation – released on 2 November – stated.
