Abstract

Patients as taxpayers fund the NHS but they are rarely involved in discussions of priority settings. 216 diabetic patients attending the Bournemouth Diabetes and Endocrine Centre were questioned about their views on how additional resources should be spent within their local diabetes service and which areas should be rationed. There was an overwhelming view that additional money should be spent on clinical research even if at the expense of other areas more appealing to managers and politicians. Thus, consumers of a health service may have a different perspective from the people who currently administer and finance it.