Primary care. Failure to achieve take-off

The Primary Care Act, passed in April, allowed for experimentation with new forms of service delivery and enabled health authorities to commission GP services directly, suspending the national contract. It encouraged HAs, general practices and trusts to submit proposals for pilot projects to improve primary care. More than 500 proposals have been drawn up and the pilot projects are meant to go live on 1 April 1988. But progress has been sluggish. Many HAs are struggling to sustain enthusiasm for pilot projects, and GPs are divided.