What Does CQC Regulation 15 Mean for GP Surgery Cleaning?
When patients walk into your GP surgery, they expect it to feel clean, safe and well cared for. That first impression matters, but Regulation 15 goes far beyond how the premises look.
For GP practices in England, CQC Regulation 15 covers the condition, suitability, security and cleanliness of the premises and equipment used to provide care. In practical terms, your surgery needs suitable cleaning arrangements, clear responsibilities and a reliable way to check that standards are being maintained. Read the full regulation here.
A commercial cleaning company can support this work, but the responsibility for meeting CQC requirements remains with the registered provider.
What does CQC Regulation 15 require?
CQC Regulation 15 requires that the premises and equipment used by a care provider be clean, secure, suitable for their purpose, properly used, and properly maintained.
CQC guidance states that cleaning should comply with current legislation and guidance. Practices should use appropriate cleaning methods and products, follow a schedule suited to the care being delivered, and monitor cleanliness levels.
For a GP practice, this means cleaning cannot be treated as a simple end-of-day task. Your arrangements should reflect the type of care you provide, the areas patients use and the level of risk associated with each part of the building.
The CQC also links cleanliness to wider infection prevention and control responsibilities. Its current guidance for general practice covers cleaning schedules, audit processes, waste management, equipment maintenance and clear responsibility for clinical equipment.
What does this mean for your GP surgery?
In simple terms, you should be able to answer five questions:
- Who is responsible for each cleaning task?
- How often should each room or surface be cleaned?
- Which tasks are the cleaning team’s responsibility, and which are clinical staff’s?
- How do you know the work has been completed properly?
- What happens when standards fall or an urgent clean is needed?
You don’t require a complex system just for paperwork. Instead, you need an approach that aligns with your practice and clearly demonstrates that cleaning is planned, carried out, and verified.
Start with a cleaning schedule tailored to your practice
A generic office cleaning schedule is unlikely to be suitable for a GP surgery.
Your schedule should reflect the rooms you have, the services you deliver, your patient numbers, opening hours and any higher-risk procedures completed on site.
A practice offering minor surgery, for example, will have different requirements from a smaller surgery that mainly provides consultations.
The schedule should cover clinical and non-clinical areas, including:
- Consultation and treatment rooms
- Waiting areas and reception desks
- Patient and staff washrooms
- Staff kitchens and rest areas
- Corridors, entrances and stairways.
- Waste and storage areas.
It should also detect individual items within these areas, such as examination couches, sinks, taps, door handles, privacy curtains, floors, internal glass, furniture, and shared touchpoints.
The National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness 2025 adopt a risk-based approach. They recognise that different areas and items require different cleaning frequencies based on their function and associated risks. Healthcare organisations should also be able to demonstrate how and to what standard their premises are cleaned.
This doesn’t imply that all surfaces require identical treatment. Instead, your choices should be deliberate, documented, and re-evaluated whenever your building’s usage evolves.
Make cleaning responsibilities clear
One of the easiest ways gaps in cleaning appear is when two teams assume the other is responsible.
Your commercial cleaner may handle cleaning the floor, washroom, sink, and general surfaces in a consultation room. Clinical staff might be responsible for cleaning specific medical equipment between patients. When these responsibilities are not clearly defined, tasks can be overlooked.
Your cleaning arrangements should specify who is responsible for:
- The general environment and building fabric.
- Frequently touched surfaces.
- Clinical and non-clinical equipment.
- Examination couches and privacy curtains.
- Spillages and urgent cleaning.
- Waste handling and storage areas.
- Cleaning after higher-risk procedures.
CQC guidance states that GP practices need an effective infection prevention and control policy, a designated lead, and clearly assigned responsibilities for cleaning specific clinical equipment.
It also expects an audit programme that records issues and shows what the practice did to correct them.
A responsibilities document doesn’t have to be lengthy, but it should eliminate any doubt.
Do not rely on something looking clean
A waiting room may seem clean, but door handles, chair frames, or lower surfaces can still be overlooked.
Similarly, a consultation room might appear clean, but the cleaning schedule might no longer match the number of patients passing through.
Visible cleanliness matters, but it is only one part of the picture.
Your practice should include a method to verify adherence to the agreed schedule. This can involve regular inspections, maintenance of cleaning records, exception reports, and scheduled reviews with your cleaning provider.
A useful audit should answer three questions:
- Was the task completed?
- Did the area meet the expected standard?
- What action was taken when it did not?
The NHS cleanliness standards specify that contracts with cleaning service providers should include compliance and auditing arrangements. For a GP surgery that employs an external cleaning company, this underscores the importance of the service specification and review process.
Keep useful records
A full folder means little when its contents do not reflect what happens in the surgery.
Your records should support the way you manage cleanliness. Depending on your practice, these may include:
The current cleaning specification and schedule.
- Completed cleaning records.
- Audit results and follow-up actions.
- Your infection prevention and control policy.
- Details of your named IPC lead.
- Relevant staff training records.
- COSHH information and safety data sheets.
- Equipment cleaning responsibilities.
- Reports of spillages, incidents or urgent cleans.
- Notes from cleaning review meetings.
The infection prevention and control code of practice sets out clear cleaning responsibilities, agreed routines, sufficient resources, and processes for requesting routine or urgent additional cleaning.
Good records help you spot recurring issues. They also show that your practice responds when something needs attention.
Review the arrangement when your practice changes
A cleaning schedule should not be left untouched for years.
Patient numbers could increase, and operating hours might be adjusted. You might also add a treatment room, introduce a new procedure, or redesign your waiting area layout.
Review your cleaning arrangements when there is a significant change and at planned intervals throughout the contract.
Ask whether your current cleaning hours remain realistic. Check whether busy touchpoints are included. Review audit results, reported issues and staff feedback.
Everyday users of each room will typically notice minor gaps initially.
A good cleaning provider should help you adjust the specification rather than continue to deliver a schedule that no longer fits.
Common GP surgery cleaning gaps
Some problems arise because the original cleaning plan was too vague. Others develop gradually as the practice changes.
Common gaps include:
- Unclear responsibility for shared equipment.
- No documented plan for carpets or privacy curtains.
- Missed frequently touched surfaces.
- Cleaning records signed without meaningful checks.
- No reliable cover when the usual cleaner is absent.
- No clear process for requesting urgent cleaning.
- Cleaning frequencies that no longer reflect patient numbers.
Another risk is approaching each part of the surgery uniformly. A staff office, waiting area, and treatment room may each need different products, methods, or frequencies.
The solution isn’t always increasing cleaning hours; sometimes, it’s about having clearer specifications, improved timing, or a more logical division of responsibilities.
What should you expect from a healthcare cleaning provider?
Your cleaning company should recognise that a GP surgery is not a standard office.
Before the contract begins, the provider should assess your premises and agree a clear specification with you.
This should cover each area, the required tasks, frequencies, approved products, access arrangements, and the process for reporting concerns.
You should also expect:
- Cleaning staff with suitable training.
- Regular supervision and quality checks.
- Reliable holiday and sickness cover.
- Relevant risk assessments and COSHH documents.
- Secure management of keys and access codes.
- A clear process for reporting and correcting problems.
- A named contact who understands your account.
- Most importantly, you should know how quickly your cleaning company will act when you report an issue.
Using a professional provider does not transfer your regulatory responsibility. It should give you better support, clearer records and greater confidence that the cleaning service is being properly managed.
Does professional cleaning guarantee CQC compliance?
No cleaning service can assure your practice will meet CQC standards or achieve a specific inspection result.
Regulation 15 addresses more than just outsourced cleaning; it also encompasses the suitability, security, and proper use and maintenance of premises and equipment.
Infection prevention includes policies, clinical practices, staff training, equipment management, waste handling, and other related responsibilities within the practice.
A professional cleaning provider can support your compliance by delivering the agreed service, maintaining appropriate records, conducting audits and responding to reported problems.
Your practice must still oversee the arrangement and ensure it forms part of your wider infection prevention approach.
Frequently asked questions
Does CQC require GP practices to use a professional cleaning company?
CQC does not require every GP practice to appoint an external cleaning company. It requires providers to maintain suitable standards and have effective arrangements.
Whether cleaning is carried out internally or by a contractor, responsibilities, schedules and monitoring should be clear.
Does CQC say exactly how often a GP surgery should be cleaned?
CQC does not set one universal frequency for every room and item.
Practices should evaluate risk and adhere to current guidance to determine suitable frequencies based on their premises, equipment, and services. CQC also expects practices to follow their own protocols if no specific mandatory frequency is specified.
Who is responsible for cleaning clinical equipment?
Your practice should assign responsibility for each item.
Some tasks may fall to clinical staff, while others may be part of the commercial cleaning specification. The key is ensuring responsibilities are clear and staff adhere to the correct procedures.
Should GP surgery cleaning be audited?
Yes. CQC guidance for general practice refers to an infection prevention and control audit programme that includes evidence of issues identified and the actions taken.
Your cleaning service should also be reviewed against the agreed specification.
Supporting cleaner, well-managed GP practices
Regulation 15 is not about creating more paperwork. It is about ensuring your patients and staff use premises that are clean, suitable, and properly managed.
A clear cleaning schedule, agreed responsibilities and regular checks give you a stronger foundation. They also make it easier to address small issues before they become recurring problems.
ServiceMaster Clean Contract Services provides tailored healthcare cleaning for GP surgeries, medical centres and other healthcare premises.
Your local team can assess your building, review your current arrangements and prepare a cleaning specification based on how your practice operates.
