ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a big picture, one that will serve as a reference to locate and arrange the constituent parts, and will use it to navigate around the complex world of healthcare delivery. It argues that all models reduce real world complexity, they bring into focus different service elements and their interrelatedness. However, when considering health service delivery health professionals are immediately challenged with a tension between providing services for many whilst ensuring these are tailored to the needs of the individual. The challenge is clear Marie: health professionals want to promote health service delivery focused on individuals, not categories or cases. The tensions inherent in managing, balancing and resolving multiple pressures and responses to short-term issues of the day can deflect from this focus. Thus, the decisions that service users will make as a health service worker or manager will have to recognise the pervading complexity but preserve a service-user focus.
