Teamwork in Sri Lankan general practice

This paper reports part of a study to investigate the organization of general practice in Sri Lanka with particular reference to teamwork. Questionnaires were sent to 347 members of the two bodies representing general practitioners and to a further 43 doctors who were identified as providing either traditional or Western primary medical care in a defined population. A response rate of 74.2% was obtained. All practitioners of traditional (Ayurvedic) medicine were single-handed and 54.4% of members of the College of General Practitioners in Sri Lanka also worked on their own. All ancillary staff were employed by the practitioner and the mean number of staff was 3.1. Multifactor comparison was undertaken. More staff were employed by practitioners who were under 45 years old, who lived within five miles of a hospital, and who had in-patient facilities. Questions are posed concerning the development of team care in Sri Lanka.