The Public Library of Science has launched a new open access journal, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. This will be the first open access journal devoted to neglected tropical diseases, such as elephantiasis, river blindness, leprosy, hookworm, schistosomiasis, and African sleeping sickness. Funding for the new journal has come from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is playing an increasingly important role in research on these diseases. Neglected tropical diseases affect hundreds of millions of people in developing countries and cause a huge amount of ill-health. The new journal should raise the profile of research on such diseases and provide a valuable resource for doctors, health professionals and all others working to improve the lives of people suffering from such diseases.
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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