Guides
Plain-English guides to checking and choosing an independent clinic in England, and what CQC registration and ratings mean.
- What does a CQC rating mean?What Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate mean, why many private clinics have no rating, and how to use ratings when choosing a clinic.
- How to check if a private clinic is CQC registeredA step-by-step guide to checking a private clinic's registration with the Care Quality Commission, what to look for on its CQC page, and what to do if you can't find it.
- How to choose a private clinicA practical checklist for choosing an independent clinic in England: registration, who will treat you, costs, aftercare and complaints.
- CQC regulated activities explainedWhat each CQC regulated activity means in plain English, and what a clinic's registered activities tell you about what it can do.
- When does a healthcare provider need to register with CQC?What the Care Quality Commission regulates, how registration works, and which healthcare services in England must be registered.
- Private clinics in England by region: the numbersHow many CQC-registered independent clinics there are in each region of England, what they're registered to do and how they're rated. Data as at 1 September 2026.