ABSTRACT
The purpose of this concluding chapter is to draw together some of the themes that have emerged from this book and to consider the way ahead for practice development in community nursing. As discussed in Chapter 1, this is an exciting time for practice development in community nursing. For the first time nurses in clinical practice have been included on the executive boards of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), meaning that they can have a significant impact on the service development agenda. With such influence also comes responsibility. Part of that responsibility is to ensure that each PCT becomes an environment open to and enthusiastic about change, which will improve services and outcomes for individuals, families and communities. Such enthusiasm will be reinforced for staff if they have positive experiences of the change process themselves. Such experiences may be facilitated by the ideas and methods discussed in Sections 1 and 2 of this book.
