On an average weekday in England, there are over1 million consultations with general practitioners. The limited data on errors and patient harm in primary care obstructs the development of strategies to improve patient safety. In an article published recently in Family Practice, Carmen Tsang and colleagues reported the results of a systematic review to determine the types of adverse events that are routinely recorded in primary care. They found that there is limited use of routinely collected data to measure adverse events in primary care despite large volumes of data generated in the electronic patient records now used by most general practitioners in the UK.
NHS budgets are under considerable pressure. It is therefore unsurprising that many NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) In England will aim to prioritise price in contract awards, But this approach is a significant threat to community-centred healthcare. While competitive tendering is a legally required, an excessive focus on costs in awarding NHS contracts risks overshadowing key factors such as established community trust, local expertise, and the long-term impact on continuity of care. This shift towards cheaper, often external, commercial providers threatens to cut the links between communities and their local health services. The argument that competitive tendering is solely about legal compliance, and not cost, is undermined by the very nature of such tendering, which by design encourages the lowest bid. This approach risks eroding the social fabric of local healthcare provision, where established relationships and understanding of specific community needs are essential. Establishe...
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