The Standards Behind Every GP Practice & Medical Practice Guide
Our E-E-A-T framework in full: who writes and reviews our content, how our team sources it across the NHS website, the CQC and the practice’s own pages, how we verify and how often we update, our advertising and CAP/ASA compliance, how we handle corrections, and our human-in-the-loop AI policy. Read alongside our Sources & Methodology.
What is on this page
1. Editorial Mission
Finding the right GP practice and understanding how to use it should be simple. In reality, practice information is scattered across the NHS website, the CQC register, and each practice’s own site — and it changes constantly. Our mission is to bring it together into one plain-English, in-depth, regularly-updated guide for every UK GP practice and medical practice, written and verified by a human team, so patients can register, book, and contact their practice with confidence.
2. Our E-E-A-T Commitment
Experience: our guides reflect first-hand knowledge of how UK general practice actually works for patients — registering, the GMS1 form, the NHS App, repeat prescriptions, the 8am phone rush, extended access. Expertise: our team understands the regulatory framework (CQC, GMC, NICE, NHS England, ICBs). Authoritativeness: we cite primary sources — the practice’s own page, the NHS website, the CQC report — never unverified aggregators. Trustworthiness: every detail is verified by a human, we date every page with a “last reviewed” date, we never give medical advice, and we correct errors quickly and openly.
3. Our Team of Writers and Reviewers
Our content is produced by a team of writers and editors who research NHS primary care, the CQC inspection framework, and the way practices publish their information. Where a guide touches on how a regulated service works, it is reviewed by an editor familiar with the relevant framework. We do not write clinical content and we do not give medical advice — our expertise is in accurately describing practices, services, and processes, not in diagnosing or treating. Clinical information is always attributed to and linked from authoritative NHS or NICE sources.
4. Source Hierarchy
We work to a six-tier source hierarchy, where higher-tier sources govern when sources conflict:
- Tier 1 — The practice’s own website: address, phone, opening times, online-service links, registration information, services, and feedback/complaints procedure.
- Tier 2 — The NHS website: the official practice profile and “find a GP” service at nhs.uk, plus authoritative NHS guidance on registration, the NHS App, and patient rights.
- Tier 3 — The CQC (England): the registration record and the latest inspection report and rating at cqc.org.uk, with the inspection date recorded.
- Tier 4 — Professional regulators: the GMC, NMC and GPhC registers for verifying professional registration where relevant.
- Tier 5 — Clinical & commissioning bodies: NICE for clinical guidance we link to; NHS England and Integrated Care Boards for service organisation; the devolved-nation regulators (Healthcare Improvement Scotland, HIW, RQIA).
- Tier 6 — Patient voice & complaints: Healthwatch and the PHSO for feedback and complaints routes.
Full detail on each tier is on our Sources & Methodology page.
5. Verification Workflow
- Identify the authoritative source. The practice’s own website, the NHS website profile, and the CQC report (England).
- Verify the practice is active on the NHS practice finder and the CQC register.
- Cross-check the address and postcode against the practice site and Royal Mail data.
- Confirm the telephone number against the practice’s contact page.
- Check opening times including extended access.
- Verify the CQC rating (England) and record the inspection date.
- Click every online-service link — NHS App, practice website, Patient Access, SystmOnline.
- Editor sign-off. A second editor reviews end-to-end, including the “this is not the NHS / not medical advice” notices and the 999 / NHS 111 / 116 123 framework.
6. Update Cadence — Keeping Guides Current
Practice information ages quickly. We re-verify entries on a rolling cycle and after any signal that something has changed — a practice merger, a branch closure, a new phone system, a switch of online-booking platform, or a new CQC inspection. Every guide carries a “last reviewed” date. Reader-reported changes go to the front of the queue: changed phone numbers, dead links, and mergers/closures are 48-hour priority updates.
7. No Medical Advice — A Hard Editorial Rule
We have a strict editorial rule: we do not publish medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment guidance. Where a guide needs to mention a clinical topic (for example, what a service is for), we describe it factually and link to the authoritative NHS or NICE page rather than advising. Every guide directs readers with symptoms or health concerns to NHS 111 or their GP, and to 999 in an emergency.
8. Independence
medicalpracticeuk.org/ is independent. We are not affiliated with the NHS, the CQC, the GMC, NICE, any Integrated Care Board, or any GP practice. No body reviews our content prior to publication. No payment is accepted for editorial coverage of any specific practice.
9. Advertising and CAP/ASA Compliance
We are funded by display advertising. Our editorial content is never altered to favour an advertiser. Our own promotional content follows the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (the CAP Code), enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). We decline advertising that:
- Misrepresents itself as the NHS, the CQC, or an official body
- Makes misleading health claims or offers unregulated “miracle” treatments
- Promotes prescription-only medicines to the public (prohibited under MHRA rules)
- Falls into gambling, payday lending, or other categories incompatible with our context
10. Corrections
If a guide is wrong — changed phone number, new address after a move, practice merger, branch closure, new online-booking platform, or an updated CQC rating — we want to know and fix it. Reader-reported corrections are our priority queue: 7 working days for most, with a 48-hour priority path for changed phone numbers, dead links, and mergers/closures. We add a brief editorial note when a substantive correction is made.
11. AI and Automation
We use software tools for spell-check, grammar review, and routine drafting assistance. However, no editorial fact, URL, telephone number, address, opening time, CQC rating, or service detail on medicalpracticeuk.org/ is published from AI without human verification against the practice's own page, the NHS website, or the CQC report. We never auto-generate clinical content. Every guide passes through human editorial review — this human-in-the-loop standard is central to our E-E-A-T commitment.
12. Contact
For corrections, editorial questions, or sourcing enquiries: info@medicalpracticeuk.org
Spotted Something to Correct?
Email us with the subject “Correction”. Corrections are our priority queue: 7 working days for most; 48 hours for changed phone numbers, dead links, and practice mergers or closures.
📧 info@medicalpracticeuk.org