Where Every Fact on medicalpracticeuk.org/ Comes From
Explicit, named sources at every editorial layer — the practice’s own website, the NHS website, the CQC register and inspection reports, the GMC, NMC and GPhC registers, NICE, NHS England and Integrated Care Boards, the devolved-nation regulators, Healthwatch, and the PHSO. Read alongside our Editorial Policy.
The Six-Tier Source Hierarchy
Higher-tier sources govern when sources conflict. We list every body we draw from explicitly so a reader can verify the same source themselves.
1Primary — the practice’s own website
The most authoritative source for a specific practice’s day-to-day information. We capture the address and postcode, telephone number, opening times (including extended access), online-service links (NHS App, practice website, Patient Access, SystmOnline), registration information, the services offered, and the practice’s own feedback and complaints procedure.
2The NHS website — nhs.uk
- The official “Find a GP” service and practice profiles at nhs.uk
- Authoritative NHS guidance on registering with a GP, the GMS1 form, the NHS App, repeat prescriptions, and patient rights under the NHS Constitution
3The CQC (England)
- The Care Quality Commission registration record at cqc.org.uk
- The latest inspection report and rating (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate), with the inspection date recorded so readers know how current it is
4Professional regulators
- The General Medical Council (GMC) medical register at gmc-uk.org
- The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register
- The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register
5Clinical & commissioning bodies
- NICE — clinical guidance we link to (we describe, not advise) at nice.org.uk
- NHS England and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) — how primary care is commissioned and how practices group into Primary Care Networks (PCNs)
- Devolved nations: Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW), and RQIA in Northern Ireland
6Patient voice & complaints
- Healthwatch — the independent patient champion at healthwatch.co.uk
- The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) — the final stage for unresolved NHS complaints in England at ombudsman.org.uk
The Eight-Step Verification Workflow
- Identify the authoritative source. The practice’s own website — not an unverified third-party aggregator.
- Verify the practice is active on the NHS practice finder and, in England, 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 against this workflow and the safety notices.
What We Deliberately Do Not Use
- Unverified directory aggregators — these often carry stale phone numbers and closed practices
- Auto-scraped feeds — these drift out of date quickly, especially after practice mergers and closures
- Sites imitating the NHS — only the official NHS website (nhs.uk) and the practice’s own page are authoritative
- Unverified patient-review sites as a source of factual administrative data (we point to official feedback routes such as Healthwatch separately)
No Medical Content From Unverified Sources
We do not publish medical advice. Where a guide mentions a clinical topic (for example, what a service is for), the information is described factually and linked to the authoritative NHS or NICE page. We never source clinical content from unverified or non-authoritative websites, and we never present it as advice.
AI Policy
We use software tools for spell-check, grammar review, and routine drafting assistance. We do not use AI to publish editorial facts (URLs, phone numbers, addresses, opening times, CQC ratings, service details) without independent human verification against the practice’s own page, the NHS website, or the CQC report. We never auto-generate clinical content. The eight-step workflow above governs every guide on the site — this human-in-the-loop standard is central to our E-E-A-T commitment.
Children and the Children’s Code
The site is intended for a general adult audience — people looking for a GP practice, including parents and carers acting for others. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children, and we minimise data collection in line with the ICO’s Age Appropriate Design Code (the Children’s Code).
Want to Suggest a Source?
Email info@medicalpracticeuk.org with the subject “Source suggestion”. We review every suggestion against the six-tier hierarchy.
📧 info@medicalpracticeuk.org