The big day

This is our GP-run Health Centre at opening time today - all quiet and polished and ready for the day's work.

I am chair of the Patient Participation Group, and here today for a very important inspection visit by the Care Quality Commission multi-disciplinary inspection team.

For those unfamiliar the CQC is the major public sector watchdog on health care services - big, powerful, searching and critical, yet (we are confident) realistic and pragmatic.

It is a big day for the practice, and everyone was on their toes and anxious.
We patient representatives rate it as first class and are very hopeful that the outcome will be an "outstanding" rating, which is what we think it deserves.
Time will tell.