Mandatory Training for GP Practices: A Practical CQC Compliance Guide

Staff learning and training

Mandatory training for GP practices can be a confusing area. Practice managers are often presented with long lists of courses described as “CQC mandatory”, together with fixed renewal periods that may not reflect the responsibilities of individual staff members.

However, the Care Quality Commission does not publish a single definitive list of mandatory training that every member of a GP practice team must complete.

Instead, each practice must determine what training its staff need by considering:

• The person’s role and responsibilities

• The activities they perform

• The risks associated with their work

• The needs of the practice’s patient population

• Relevant legislation, professional standards and national guidance

• Any contractual or locally agreed requirements

The central requirement is that staff must be appropriately qualified, competent, skilled and experienced to carry out their duties safely.

This guide explains what CQC expects, which training topics GP practices should consider and how to build an effective training system that provides meaningful evidence of staff competence.

What does CQC say about mandatory training in general practice?

CQC GP Mythbuster 70 confirms that individual GP practices are responsible for deciding:

• What training is mandatory for their staff

• Which staff members need each type of training

• What level of training is appropriate

• How the training will be delivered

• How frequently knowledge and competence need to be reviewed

• How staff participation and compliance will be monitored

Online training can be acceptable, but completing an online course does not automatically demonstrate that a staff member is competent to perform a practical or clinical task.

Practices should be able to show that staff have retained the necessary knowledge and can apply their learning in practice.

Regulation 18 and staff training

CQC considers staff training principally under Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Regulation 18 requires providers to deploy sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff. Staff must also receive appropriate:

• Support

• Training

• Professional development

• Supervision

• Appraisal

These arrangements should enable staff to carry out their duties safely and effectively.

CQC may consider how a practice identifies learning needs when someone:

• Starts working at the practice

• Takes on a new responsibility

• Changes role

• Begins performing a new clinical procedure

• Returns to work after a prolonged absence

• Requires additional support following an incident or performance concern

Training should therefore be treated as an ongoing governance process, rather than an annual exercise in collecting certificates.

Is there a mandatory training checklist for GP practices?

There is no universal CQC checklist that applies to every member of every GP practice team.

CQC does, however, identify several examples of training it may expect to see. These include:

• Basic life support

• Infection prevention and control

• Fire safety

• Safeguarding adults

• Safeguarding children

• Information governance

• Mental Capacity Act awareness

• Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards awareness, where relevant

• Training to support autistic people and people with a learning disability

Practices should also consider additional subjects based on their services, workforce, premises and identified risks.

The BMA training resource for GP practice staff provides a useful overview. However, practices must still decide what is necessary for each role rather than assigning every available course to every employee.

Training topics GP practices should consider

The following subjects are commonly relevant to general practice. Their inclusion does not mean every course is legally mandatory for every staff member.

Basic life support and medical emergencies

All staff should understand their role during a medical emergency. The level and content of training should reflect the person’s responsibilities.

Clinical staff will normally need to demonstrate that they can:

• Recognise cardiorespiratory arrest

• Call for appropriate assistance

• Start cardiopulmonary resuscitation

• Use the practice’s emergency equipment

• Operate an automated external defibrillator where appropriate

• Respond to common medical emergencies within their scope of practice

Non-clinical staff should know how to summon help, direct emergency services and support the practice’s emergency response.

The BMA notes that annual basic life support updates are encouraged, although it does not describe this as a universal statutory frequency. Practices should use current professional guidance, risk assessment and evidence of staff competence to determine suitable refresher arrangements.

Practical simulation exercises can provide stronger evidence than an online certificate alone.

Safeguarding children

The required safeguarding level should reflect how the staff member interacts with children, young people, parents and carers.

The BMA resource recommends Level 2 competence for staff whose role brings them into contact with children, young people or relevant adults. GPs and practice nurses are generally expected to have Level 3 competence.

Practices should check current intercollegiate safeguarding guidance when determining the appropriate level and renewal arrangements.

Staff should also understand:

• The practice safeguarding policy

• How to record a concern

• Who the safeguarding lead is

• Local referral and escalation arrangements

• How to respond when there is an immediate risk

• Information-sharing responsibilities

Safeguarding adults

Adult safeguarding training should also be appropriate to the individual’s responsibilities.

Reception staff may require awareness-level training, while healthcare assistants, nurses and GPs are likely to need more detailed training appropriate to their clinical responsibilities.

Training should help staff recognise different types of abuse and understand internal reporting procedures, local safeguarding pathways and appropriate information sharing.

Learning disability and autism training

Since 1 July 2022, CQC-registered providers have been legally required to ensure that staff receive training in learning disability and autism at a level appropriate to their role.

The requirement is not limited to clinicians. It can also apply to receptionists, administrators, cleaners and other staff who may come into contact with autistic people or people with a learning disability.

The Oliver McGowan Code of Practice came into effect on 6 September 2025. It establishes standards for training that is appropriate to a person’s role.

CQC states that relevant training should:

• Cover capabilities from the applicable core capability frameworks

• Help staff explore how they will apply their learning

• Include a minimum amount of live and interactive training

• Be co-produced and co-delivered by people with lived experience

• Be evidence-based and appropriately quality-assured

Practices should review their existing training rather than assuming that a short awareness module automatically meets the current requirements.

Infection prevention and control

GP practices must assess and control infection risks. Training should be appropriate to the individual’s duties and the procedures undertaken at the practice.

Relevant subjects may include:

• Hand hygiene

• Use of personal protective equipment

• Safe management of sharps

• Cleaning and decontamination

• Aseptic technique

• Specimen handling

• Waste management

• Management of exposure incidents

• Staff vaccination and occupational health arrangements

The practice should consider the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections.

Training should be supported by observation, audit and feedback. For example, a certificate can be combined with hand-hygiene audits or competency assessments for clinical procedures.

Fire safety

All staff should receive information and training about the fire arrangements at the premises. This should include people working outside normal opening hours, such as cleaners or contractors where applicable.

Staff should know:

• How to raise the alarm

• The location of escape routes

• The evacuation procedure

• Where the assembly point is

• Who has specific fire-safety responsibilities

• How patients who need assistance would be supported

• What to do if an exit is unavailable

Generic online fire training is unlikely to cover the arrangements at a particular building. It should therefore be supported by site-specific instruction and appropriate fire drills.

Information governance and data security

The level of training required should reflect the staff member’s access to confidential information and digital systems.

Relevant areas may include:

• Patient confidentiality

• Secure handling of medical records

• Data protection

• Recognising phishing attempts

• Secure email and messaging

• Avoiding inappropriate access to records

• Reporting data breaches

• Confidential conversations at reception

• Working securely from home

Training should be reinforced through clear policies, access controls, incident reporting and regular security awareness.

Mental capacity and consent

Staff should understand the principles of consent and the Mental Capacity Act to the extent required by their role.

Clinical staff should be able to recognise when capacity may be in question, complete and record an appropriate assessment and make lawful best-interest decisions when required.

Non-clinical staff may need sufficient awareness to recognise a concern and seek appropriate support.

Health and safety

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers must provide the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to protect employees.

Relevant training may include:

• Workplace health and safety

• Display screen equipment

• Control of substances hazardous to health

• Lone working

• Personal safety

• Managing violence and aggression

• Slips, trips and falls

• Incident reporting

• Manual handling

Manual-handling training should be based on the tasks staff actually perform. A receptionist who occasionally moves archive boxes will have different needs from a clinician who assists patients with reduced mobility.

Role-specific clinical training

CQC may request evidence that clinical staff are trained and competent for the activities they perform.

Examples include:

• Administering vaccines

• Taking cervical screening samples

• Performing or interpreting spirometry

• Minor surgery

• Long-term condition reviews

• Treating minor illness

• Phlebotomy

• Ear irrigation or microsuction

• Wound care

• Medicines management

• Use of medical devices

There may not always be a specific law requiring a named course. Nevertheless, the practice must be able to demonstrate that the clinician has appropriate training, knowledge, supervision and competence.

Where a clinician works outside their usual scope, the practice must ensure that the activity is within their competence, properly supervised and supported by appropriate equipment, protocols and indemnity arrangements.

How often should mandatory training be renewed?

There is no single renewal period that applies to every training subject.

Refresher frequency should be determined by considering:

• Legislation and statutory guidance

• Professional body requirements

• National training frameworks

• Local contractual requirements

• The staff member’s role

• The level of risk

• Changes to guidance or practice procedures

• Findings from incidents, audits and complaints

• Whether the person continues to demonstrate competence

The Core Skills Training Framework can help practices identify learning outcomes, target audiences and suggested refresher periods. It should inform the practice’s assessment, but it does not remove the provider’s responsibility to determine what individual staff members need.

Practices should also avoid unnecessary repetition. The BMA recommends recognising equivalent training completed through another suitable provider where the content and certification meet the practice’s requirements.

What training evidence might CQC review?

A well-managed practice should be able to provide more than a spreadsheet showing course completion percentages.

Useful evidence may include:

• A role-based training matrix

• Training and induction policies

• Individual certificates

• Competency assessments

• Practical observations

• Clinical supervision records

• Appraisal and development plans

• Meeting minutes

• Staff questionnaires or discussions

• Audit results

• Medical emergency simulations

• Fire-drill records

• Action plans for overdue training

• Evidence that locums and contractors have been considered

• Records showing how training needs were determined

Inspectors may also speak with staff to establish whether they understand relevant procedures and can put their learning into practice.

How to create a role-based training matrix

A training matrix should identify:

• Each member of staff

• Their role

• The training assigned to them

• The level required

• Date completed

• Expiry or review date

• Training provider

• Evidence location

• Competency assessment date

• Any exemption or reason why training is not required

• Planned action where training is overdue

Do not simply copy a generic matrix from another organisation. Begin by listing the roles within your practice and identifying the tasks, risks and responsibilities associated with each one.

A receptionist, healthcare assistant, practice nurse, salaried GP and practice manager should not automatically have identical training requirements.

Common training compliance mistakes

Frequent weaknesses include:

1. Assigning the same courses to every member of staff without considering their role.

2. Treating course completion as proof of practical competence.

3. Failing to include locums, temporary workers, contractors or staff working outside normal hours.

4. Allowing clinical training to expire without assessing whether staff can safely continue the activity.

5. Relying on online fire training without explaining local evacuation arrangements.

6. Recording an overall compliance percentage without identifying high-risk gaps.

7. Providing learning disability and autism training that does not reflect the current legal requirement or Oliver McGowan Code of Practice.

8. Failing to update training following an incident, complaint, audit finding or change in responsibility.

9. Requiring staff to repeat equivalent training without considering valid evidence from another provider.

10. Having a training matrix that does not match what staff actually do.

A practical training compliance checklist

GP practices should regularly check that:

• Training requirements have been assessed for every role.

• New staff receive an appropriate induction.

• Staff receive additional training before taking on new duties.

• Training levels reflect clinical and non-clinical responsibilities.

• Expiry and review dates are actively monitored.

• Overdue high-risk training is escalated.

• Practical competence is assessed where necessary.

• Staff understand local policies and emergency procedures.

• Learning disability and autism training meets current requirements.

• Locums and contractors are included in the process.

• Training completed elsewhere is reviewed for equivalence.

• Training needs are discussed through supervision and appraisal.

• Incidents, complaints and audits are used to identify further learning.

• Evidence can be retrieved promptly if requested by CQC.

Need help reviewing your GP practice training arrangements?

A training matrix can show which courses have been completed, but it may not reveal whether your training programme is proportionate, role-specific or supported by evidence of competence.

As a former CQC inspector with more than 12 years of regulatory experience, I can review your training systems alongside the wider governance arrangements within your practice.

My CQC compliance support and mock inspection services can help you:

• Identify gaps in mandatory and role-specific training

• Review your training matrix and supporting evidence

• Assess whether staff can demonstrate competence

• Check induction, supervision and appraisal arrangements

• Review your practice against current CQC Quality Statements

• Produce a clear and prioritised compliance action plan

You can also explore my free CQC resources for healthcare providers or book a free 15-minute introductory call to discuss the support your practice needs.

Frequently asked questions

Does CQC require every staff member to complete the same mandatory training?

No. Training should be based on the staff member’s role, responsibilities, working environment and the needs of people using the service.

Is online mandatory training acceptable to CQC?

It can be. CQC states that online learning may be acceptable where the provider can demonstrate that staff have the knowledge, skills and competence needed for their roles. Practical or site-specific instruction may also be required.

Does CQC specify how often training must be repeated?

CQC does not set a single renewal frequency for all subjects. Practices should consider legislation, professional guidance, training frameworks, local requirements and evidence of continuing competence.

Are training certificates enough for CQC?

Not always. Certificates demonstrate course completion, but inspectors may also consider supervision, competency assessments, staff interviews, audits and whether learning is being applied in practice.

Does mandatory training apply to reception and administrative staff?

Yes, where the subject is relevant to their role. Non-clinical staff may require training in areas such as safeguarding, confidentiality, information security, fire safety, basic life support and supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability.

Final thoughts

Effective mandatory training in general practice is not about purchasing the largest possible bundle of online courses. It is about identifying what each staff member needs to work safely, providing suitable training and demonstrating that learning has translated into competence.

A strong system should connect training with induction, supervision, appraisal, incidents, audits and service development. This provides better evidence for CQC, but more importantly, it helps staff deliver safer and more responsive care.

This article provides general information and should not be treated as legal advice. Practices should consider their own services, workforce, contractual requirements, professional standards and current official guidance when determining training requirements.