Mixing oil and water. How can primary care organisations improve health as well as deliver effective health care?

Primary care groups are required not only to provide health care to patients but also to improve the health of their populations, i.e. to promote better health. The former is a reactive activity, the latter proactive. One can be done on your own, independently face to face, while the other demands outside resources, involves team-working and partnerships and addresses large constituencies. Is it possible to marry these apparently diametrically-opposed activities within the primary care environment? To mix oil and water?

This report, the result of an eighteen-month study, looks in detail at this issue and explores the extent to which there can be synergy between primary care and public health. It will require the WHO's definition of primary health care, based on principles of equity, community involvement and intersectorial collaboration to become a reality. This report investigates the new relationships that will need to be forged and the challenges that will have to be faced if success is to be achieved.

Policy makers, health authority managers, primary care practitioners and public health professionals will all find revealing insights into what the future might hold for their roles in the development of primary care and public health.