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General Practitioners (GPs) are told by infection control nurses and Primary Care Trusts to remove toys from their waiting and consulting rooms, as they may harm children by spreading germs. However, according to the Care Quality Commission, they do not pose any such danger and there is no evidence for the same, the health regulator, on Monday said, adding that the local health authorities should stop issuing such false advice.

GPs are now having to register with the CQC, which regulates health and social care providers, reported Telegraph.

Martin Brunet, a GP at Binscombe Medical Centre in Godalming, Surrey, said that in an announcement he received, he was informed that "wooden toys are not allowed, if you want to be CQC compliant."

But, Brunet is challenging the order since he personally has a wooden train in his consultancy for more than 10 years, to keep children busy while he spoke to their parents.

"The idea of telling the children that come to see me, that they can't play with the train, was very sad," he said.

He said that that the nurses were perhaps wrongly demanding GP surgeries to follow cleanliness criteria that they use in hospitals.

He said that there are certain benefits of having the toys in the consultancy which helps the children keep busy.

"I see parents who are barely able to keep a third of an ear on me, due to their children," he said.

PCTs have also asked GP surgeries to get rid of soft toys, which have been shown to harbour more germs than hard-surfaced ones, said the report.

The CQC  on Monday however, cleared the air and said that it did not expect GPs to throw away their toys - even cuddly ones.

"Rumours that practices will have to throw out toys from their waiting rooms have no basis in fact. This and other rumours such as carpets and soft furnishings in waiting rooms will have to be removed due to infection issues control are absolutely false," said a spokesman.

"These are matters that are not likely to cause the CQC any concern, or lead to non-compliance with the essential standards of quality and safety. The Commission is aware that some PCTs have been saying this to practices and would encourage anyone who has encountered this behaviour pass that information on to the CQC who will advise the PCT their advice is wrong," he added.