Research Paper of the Year: relevance to the broader primary care team

INTRODUCTION

The Research Paper of the Year (RPY), awarded by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), gives recognition to an individual or group of researchers who have undertaken and published an exceptional piece of research relating to general practice or primary care. The three categories are Clinical Research, Health Services Research (including Implementation and Public Health), and Medical Education with Relevance to Primary Care. Papers are scored on the criteria of originality, impact, contribution to the reputation of general practice, scientific approach, and presentation.

General practices are changing — the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) can be viewed as an opportunity to offer patients a choice of clinicians, or as a system to ensure that the patient is seen by the correct clinician at the appropriate time (often as judged by systems and protocols within practices), or as an effort to plug the gap that exists because there are insufficient GPs.¹ NHS England outlines a supervision framework for these additional roles.² A report by the King’s Fund highlighted numerous concerns about the roll-out of the ARRS roles, including lack of estate to accommodate extra practitioners, and the need for clinical supervision and managerial and peer support.³ The latter are critical to the effective integration of ARRS roles within general practice, but adequate additional funding is required to provide this support. The new roles are here to stay, and it is vital that our College embraces the practitioners delivering care and ensures that we all understand the evolving evidence base, and …