Best research: Research originating in primary care needs support

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7539.491-a

BMJ 2006;332:491 (25 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7539.491-a

Letter

Best research

Research originating in primary care needs support

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Pollock et al clearly summarise the problems inherentin the UK Department of Health's new research strategy.^{1 2} Theproposed reorganisation of primary care research networks isalso a concern: pharmaceutical industry representatives mayhave membership of key strategic groups in reorganised primarycare networks and the predominant research paradigm will becomethe large randomised controlled trial.

One of the clear strengths of the current networks is the broadrange of studies and methods that can be identified in theirresearch portfolios. This range of topics represents the diversityof work in primary care as well as the welcome opportunity overrecent years for many to investigate an area of their practicethat has fired their curiosity and enthusiasm. There are potentialadvantages to the NHS as a whole in practitioners becoming involvedin their own research, albeit on a small scale, since this islikely to lead to . . . [Full text of this article]

Jim Sikorski, chair

Lewisham Research Unit, London SE26 4TH j.sikorski@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Susan Robinson, research fellow, Martin Edwards, GP researcher

Lewisham Research Unit, London SE26 4TH