Some quandaries facing the health visitor in these times of change,

Several dilemmas face personnel in the National Health Service as they endeavour to provide quality care while both costs and the level of consumer expectation rise. Amongst the specific aspects of concern to the health visitor are, in particular, role perceptions and role expansion, the problems consequent upon the integration of preventive workers within traditionally curative settings, the perplexities of those concerned with the rightful deployment of skills and resources within the primary health care team, and the need to create group cohesion and efficiency against a background of different professional cultural heritages. The changing pattern of disease raises several issues, in particular the contribution that health visitors might make to the total health care system. The overall aim is to examine a few of the areas where there may be conflict and to look at the way in which such conflicts could be harnessed for further cooperation and communication, so improving group harmony and community health care.