One of my professional roles is acting as Associate Director (Primary Care) for the Diabetes Research Network. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases that primary care professionals treat, affecting nearly 4% of the population of England. A key aim for Diabetes Research Network will be to encourage general practitioners, practice nurses and other primary care professionals to take part in its activities and to help recruit patients for clinical trials and other studies. A recent article in the journal Primary Care Diabetes discusses how primary health care professionals and the Diabetes Research Network can work together.
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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