[2] In South West England there was considerable pressure for staff to establish social enterprises such as Peninsula Community Health to take on these services.
Campaigners in Gloucestershire successfully challenged the decision[3] to establish a social enterprise to provide community health services there in 2012.
Contracts to run NHS community services are subject to competitive tendering processes under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, so it is not clear whether these organisations will survive.
This is the sector in which competition from private providers such as Virgin Healthcare and Serco is most intense.
[5] Community services have been repeatedly reorganised since the abolition of district health authorities in 1996.