Primary Care Programme milestones

Below is a timeline of the primary care research milestones and projects.

PRINCIPLE trial launched. It is a UK-wide clinical study to find COVID-19 treatments for recovery at home. It was run by the University of Oxford.
Primary Care Strategy was developed in late 2020. It describes our plan for expanding research activity in primary care settings across England. It focuses on primary care services as a key setting for research activity.

The Primary Care Strategy Programme Board met for the first time on 27 May 2021.
We are working with NHS England colleagues to embed research in primary care. In 2021 research was included in:
- the GP Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) contract guidance
- reference to NIHR Learn resources
In June 2021, Morag Burton was appointed Primary Care Business Lead for the NIHR CRN Primary Care Strategy.
August 2021, NIHR Learn Insights instalment on Primary Care research. It was edited by Phil Evans, Deputy Medical Director & Professor of Primary Care Research, University of Exeter NIHR CRN Coordinating Centre.
PANORAMIC showed the benefits of conducting research in primary care. The UK's fastest recruiting Clinical Trials of Investigational Medicinal Products (CTIMP) showed what was possible with appropriate resourcing and new ways of delivering research:
- 26,482 participants recruited
- 91 recruitment sites
- 509 confirmed spoke sites
- 86% os study sample size (UK) recruited
- 800 UK study sample size (24,800 in England)
- It was also the largest trial of community-based treatment for COVID-19 in the world.
Molnupiravir results became available.

The website content for the Primary Care Programme went live on 3 March 2022.
Our first primary care learning event in March 2022 was attended by over 250 people. It showcased many of the development areas of work. The event focussed on the strategy and the challenges of primary care research. The session recordings are available on NIHR Learn.
Re-launch of the primary care commercial costing tool in April 2022.
In September 2022 Phil Evans was a guest on The Jolly GP Trainee podcast. He talked about continuity of care between GPs and their patients. Search Spotify and iTunes for the podcast. Later that month he also wrote an article titled Breaking barriers for research in primary care for Pulse.
The Primary Care Research Informatics and Digital Environment Solutions (PRIDES) service has gone from strength to strength. It was instrumental in the delivery of some secondary care led COVID-19 trials and the delivery of the PRINCIPLE and PANORAMIC trials. This led on to a tender process for the hosting of the PRIDES Hub between March and May 2022. This was awarded to CRN West Midlands and South West Peninsula jointly to host going forward until March 2024.

Review of the LCRN funding models for primary care. The report was published in January 2023 and demonstrates accurately the national spend on primary care delivery and leadership.
Second learning event took place in February 2023. It attracted Chief Investigators, Principal Investigators and Clinical Trials Units (CTUs), Research Design Services (RDS) and Sponsors with the aim to encourage them to conduct research in partnership with primary care.