What happens when the OHSC inspects a private general practice, and how do you prepare?

The OHSC gives a general practice at least seven working days of notice, then spends one full day scoring documents, patient records, observations and interviews against its Regulatory General Practice Inspection Tool v1.1. A preliminary report follows within 20 working days, and the practice has 20 working days to answer it.

What the inspector does on the day

The OHSC planned routine inspections of 210 general practices across the nine provinces in 2025/26, the first year of its GP tool, and an inspection of a general practice takes one full day.¹ The tool scores each measure 1 or 0, by document review, observation, a patient record audit or an interview, and rates each one essential, vital or non-negotiable.²³ Where a measure audits records, the inspector selects three records of users seen at the time of the inspection or in the previous month.³

How to prepare the practice

1. Name the person in charge. A practice owner or manager, with a deputy, who receives the notice and the inspector and gives the practice overview.
2. Sign every procedure. Each standard operating procedure carries a title, the practice owner's name, a signature, the approver's designation, the approval date and a review date within 5 years.
3. Fill the registers. Complaints, archived and disposed records, adverse drug reactions and training, with twelve months of entries or documented zero reporting.
4. Audit three records cold. Check identity, date and time, allergies, assessment, plan, medication, referrals, results and a signature on each entry.
5. Check the emergency trolley. Airways, oxygen with a working gauge, masks and a pulse oximeter, each in date, since these are non-negotiable measures.

1. Practice ______ Inspection date ______ Notice received ______
2. Person in charge ______ Deputy ______
3. Procedures signed and within review date ______
4. Complaints register, last 12 months ______ Adverse events register ______
5. Three records audited ______ Gaps found ______
6. Emergency trolley checked by ______ On ______
7. Gap ______ Owner ______ Due ______

Copy template

After the inspection

The preliminary report names the areas of non-compliance and the steps to fix them, and the person in charge has no more than 20 working days to respond in writing.¹ Evidence uploaded later is accepted for some documents, while record audits and user and staff interviews accept none.⁴ The final report leads either to a recommendation for a certificate of compliance or to a compliance notice, set out in the guide to OHSC grading.¹

Questions

Does the OHSC announce its inspections?

Usually. A notice goes out at least seven working days before, and the OHSC may inspect unannounced where giving notice could put user safety or the quality of care at risk.

How long does a general practice inspection take?

One full day, under the OHSC's Annual Inspection Strategy for 2025/26, against two to five days for a hospital.

Can we add missing records after the inspection?

Not for the record audit. Documents missing on the day may be uploaded within the 20 day window, while patient record audits and interviews accept no evidence after the inspection.

Sources

1. 1Office of Health Standards Compliance, 2025Annual Inspection Strategy 2025/26Read source
2. 2Office of Health Standards Compliance, 2025Regulatory General Practice Inspection Tool v1.1, Administration and Practice ManagementRead source
3. 3Office of Health Standards Compliance, 2025Regulatory General Practice Inspection Tool v1.1, Clinical Care and SupportRead source
4. 4Office of Health Standards Compliance, 2026Annual Inspection Report 2024/25Read source

Written by the wai team from Health Professions Council of South Africa and Office of Health Standards Compliance guidance, checked on 16 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. Neither the OHSC nor the HPCSA endorses wai or any software.