Primary care research after the Act: Why commissioners and academia need to work together

摘要

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 is driving the biggest shake-up in the NHS for a generation. The Act proposes a complete change in the NHS commissioning architecture, an increased emphasis on competition and choice, and a move of public health services to local authorities. From April 2013, primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities will be abolished with their commissioning functions taken over by clinical commissioning groups iCCGs) and the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB).These changes represent very significant challenges for those within the NHS, particularly as they are coupled with the NHS' number-one priority of making ￡20 billion in productivity improvements to avoid a reduction in service quality. So how might these changes impact on research in primary care? And what opportunities could emerge from such a shake-up?