Healthcare & Social Care

Set up and run a regulated health practice

Opening a GP surgery, dental practice, clinic, pharmacy or optical practice means clearing two gateways — registering the service with the CQC (in England) and ensuring every clinician holds their professional registration — then running the practice within the rules on medicines and controlled drugs, infection control, premises and health data.

UK-wide
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UK-wide

Related guides in Professional Bodies

This guide is for practice-shaped providers in England — GP surgeries, dental practices, private clinics, independent hospitals, pharmacies and optical practices. The same shape applies to each: register the service, register the professionals, then run the practice within the clinical and data rules. The service gateway differs by practice type: most register with the CQC, but a community pharmacy registers its premises with the General Pharmaceutical Council instead, and routine sight testing and dispensing by GOC registrants generally sits outside CQC regulated activities. If you provide residential or home care instead, use "Run a care home or other residential care service". If you operate in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, your service regulator differs — see "Healthcare regulation across the UK nations".

A. Register your service with the right regulator

Treating disease, disorder or injury, surgical and diagnostic procedures, and maternity services are all "regulated activities" — a practice carrying any of them on must be registered with the Care Quality Commission before it starts operating. There is no application fee; once registered you pay an annual fee invoiced on your registration anniversary. Applications go in by downloadable form and email and there is no fixed decision period — allow a few months.

Pharmacies are the exception: registered pharmacy premises are a General Pharmaceutical Council registration under the Pharmacy Order 2010 (with a responsible pharmacist in charge), not a CQC one — CQC registration applies only if the pharmacy also provides regulated activities such as a private clinic. Optical practices providing only sight tests and dispensing by GOC registrants generally need no CQC registration.

B. Check every professional's registration

Every clinician you engage must hold current registration with their statutory regulator — GMC for doctors, GDC for dentists and dental care professionals, GPhC for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain, GOC for optometrists and dispensing opticians, NMC for nurses, and HCPC for allied health professionals. Verify registration before employment and re-check it periodically — the registers are free to search online.

C. Manage medicines and controlled drugs

If your practice holds or administers controlled drugs, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 regime applies: safe custody in a compliant controlled drugs cabinet for Schedule 2 and specified Schedule 3 drugs, a controlled drugs register for Schedules 1 and 2, and regular stock reconciliation. Independent hospitals are designated bodies and must appoint their own Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer; other practices report controlled drugs incidents and concerns to the NHS England area Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer through the local intelligence network.

D. Premises, infection control and radiation

Your premises and equipment must be safe, clean and suitable (CQC Regulation 15), with infection prevention and control arrangements that meet the Hygiene Code (Regulation 12). Practices using X-ray or other ionising radiation — including dental X-rays — must comply with the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (HSE) and the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (enforced by CQC in England), including appointing a Radiation Protection Adviser. Clinical waste needs licensed carriers and consignment notes.

E. Protect health data

Patient records are special-category data under the UK GDPR: you need both an Article 6 lawful basis and an Article 9 condition, registration with the ICO (paying the data protection fee), and — for NHS work — the Data Security and Protection Toolkit and a Caldicott Guardian. GP practices must appoint a data protection officer.

  1. 1

    1. Register your service before you open

    CQC for regulated activities (apply by form and email — no application fee; allow a few months); GPhC premises registration for pharmacies.

  2. 2

    2. Verify professional registration for every clinician

    Check the GMC, GDC, GPhC, GOC, NMC or HCPC register before employment and keep evidence of periodic re-checks.

  3. 3

    3. Set up your controlled drugs governance

    Compliant CD cabinet, CD register, regular stock reconciliation, and a route to the NHS England area Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer.

  4. 4

    4. Risk-assess premises, infection control and radiation

    Meet CQC Regulations 12 and 15, the Hygiene Code, and IRR 2017 / IR(ME)R 2017 if you use X-ray equipment.

  5. 5

    5. Register with the ICO and assign data roles

    Pay the data protection fee, appoint your DPO where required, and complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit if you handle NHS data.

Go deeper

  1. 1

    The CQC application step by step

    Follow "Register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)" for the full application process, fit and proper persons checks and the fundamental standards.

  2. 2

    Professional registration in detail

    Follow "Healthcare professional registration requirements" for fees, revalidation cycles and international routes.

  3. 3

    Medicines, devices and incidents

    Follow "Medicines and controlled drugs compliance", "Medical devices and equipment compliance" and the medicines incident response journey.

  4. 4

    Data protection in depth

    Follow "Data protection for healthcare providers" and "NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit compliance".

  5. 5

    Your annual rhythm

    Follow the "Healthcare provider annual compliance checklist" to keep registrations, insurance, DBS checks and training current.

Official sources

Regulator guidance for health practices.