Paths to effective teamwork in primary care settings

Effective teamworking does not automatically follow the creation of primary health-care teams. This article identifies some of the barriers to effective teamworking in primary care. It considers the limitations of the Health Education Authority's team-building workshop programme and charts the progress of an alternative model, which initially focuses on the nursing team rather than the multidisciplinary team. The success of the model in offering team members a goal in profiling and planning to meet community health needs is described. Also highlighted is the need for team-building throughout primary care disciplines which involves health-needs profiling and service planning.