The Army Primary Health Care Service: from foundation to future

Following the British Government's implementation of policies to improve quality and introduce clinical governance into healthcare delivery in the late 1990s, the British Army commissioned a study into how primary healthcare for the Regular Army should best be delivered in UK. The study recommended a unitary command structure, with more central control based upon a model of a main headquarters and seven regions. The change has been largely successful and has been subject to external scrutiny. Areas still to be developed include improving information management and benchmarking standards against the NHS, improvements in practice management, plus developments in occupational health and the nursing cadres. The forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review and other ongoing studies are likely to have a profound influence on how the current Army Primary Health Care Service develops.