NHS Choices is a service that aims to give patients and the public information about their health and healthcare. The service is intended to help patients and the public make decisions choices about their health, from lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking and exercise, through to the practical aspects of finding and using NHS services in England. My practice now has a page on NHS choices, which we have now updated. In coming months, we will be aiming to make more use of the facilities available via NHS Choices to support our patients.
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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