Forming a new clinical team for frail older people: can a group development model help?

Integrated services which utilise the expertise of team members along care pathways are evolving. Changes in service structure and subsequent team working arrangements can be a challenge for practitioners expected to redefine how they work with one another. These services are particularly important for the care of frail older people. This exploratory study of one newly forming team presents the views of staff involved in establishing an interprofessional healthcare advisory team for older people within an acute hospital admissions unit. Staff experiences of forming a new service are aligned to a model of team development. The findings are presented as themes relating to the stages of team development and identify the challenges of setting up an integrated service alongside existing services. In particular, team process issues relating to the clarity of goals, role clarification, leadership, team culture and identity. Managers must allow time to ensure new services evolve before setting up evaluation studies for efficiency and effectiveness which might prove against the potential for interprofessional teamworking.