Independent Nurse: News focus - Will a tariff change care?

The DoH is investigating a community care tariff. Judy Sands looks at the possible impact.

Nurses currently attempting to set up their own businesses repeatedly say the most difficult and time-consuming part is obtaining data to benchmark the cost of their services.

Introducing a tariff on community and primary care services will help aid the set-up of such ventures, according to Nigel Edwards, policy director at the NHS Confederation.

In fact, he says he is concerned about the current rush into social enterprise in the absence of a tariff.

'At the moment we risk taking a load of staff off into a social enterprise and then when the tariff …