Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes how a ‘consultant’ in a hospital setting can be used to help define and clarify problems, and thus help towards their resolution. Consultation to colleagues in the same organisation is a special professional situation which is common in health care settings. Clinician, health service managers and other staff who work in the hospital setting will develop their own solutions to problems and challenges. The task of the internal consultant is similar in many respects to that of the external consultant that is someone from outside of the hospital who is called in to consult over some work. “Consultant” is an unfortunate choice of word in the United Kingdom because it has connotations of an expert medical practitioner advising a patient and providing leadership in a health care team.