For Practice Managers, compliance leads, PCNs and GP Federations, finding the time to attend live training sessions can be difficult. That's where FPM Core helps. FPM Core's extensive webinar library gives healthcare organisations access to expert-led compliance, governance and management training whenever they need it, helping teams stay informed, build confidence and demonstrate ongoing professional development.

FPM members can access a comprehensive selection of policies, templates and toolkits on our flagship FPM Core software.

From early August to late September 2026, the NHS has experienced record operational pressures alongside major regulatory milestones and continued expansion of community‑based care. For practice managers, this period brings significant implications for workforce governance, service planning, and compliance.

The NHS is undergoing a significant structural shift. As decision-making becomes more consolidated and primary care faces financial and workforce pressures, organisations are being challenged to deliver more with fewer resources. For GP federations in England, scale is no longer simply a strategic advantage. It is becoming essential. By bringing practices together, NHS GP federations can unlock efficiencies that would be difficult for individual surgeries to achieve alone, supporting sustainable cost reduction without compromising patient care. 

In this monthly report, FPM looks in detail at what the CQC have publicly reported from their GP practice inspections during September 2026, all anonymised. We highlight great performance for those rated Outstanding, and also the reasons some practice's individual ratings were scored Requires Improvement, or Inadequate. 

The NHS is once again under scrutiny for inappropriate access to patient records — and this time the scale is impossible to ignore. Recent reporting shows 214 NHS staff dismissed and around 2,000 sanctioned for wrongful access since 2022¹. York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals have also admitted they under‑reported their own incidents, revising their figures to 29 cases since 2021, with 10 referred to the ICO².

For many of us, summer provides an opportunity to take a break, spend time with family and friends, and recharge our batteries. However, returning to work after annual leave can sometimes bring a sudden increase in pressure as emails accumulate, priorities shift, and workloads begin to build again. As we move into the busy months ahead, it's important to recognise the signs of burnout and take proactive steps to protect our wellbeing.

The run up to the 2026/27 flu season has been anything but routine. What should have been a predictable annual cycle of ordering, scheduling, and delivering vaccinations has instead become a lesson in supply chain fragility, shifting delivery models, and the growing tension between national ambition and local operational reality.

In this monthly report, FPM looks in detail at what the CQC have publicly reported from their GP practice inspections during August 2026, all anonymised. We highlight the reasons some practice's individual ratings were scored Requires Improvement, or Inadequate. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the workplace, helping employees improve productivity, streamline administrative tasks and generate ideas more efficiently. As organisations adopt new AI tools, having a clear AI policy and following responsible AI practices is essential to ensure compliance, data protection and ethical decision-making.