ABSTRACT

This chapter describes how the roles of health professionals and patterns of work are changing, and explores the concept of flexibility within primary care. The National Health Service (NHS) has been slow to change, but is being forced to catch up. The primary care act pilot initiatives, more termed personal medical services pilots, open up possibilities for flexible contracting by primary care with the NHS. The wider world of work is altering rapidly, too, with increases in part-time contracts, job-sharing, teleworking and other flexible employment options. The meanings of flexibility job substitution, job development, different types of contracts, family-friendly work patterns, and greater patient access. The aim of such ‘flexibility’ is to produce more efficient and effective patient care by developing the capabilities and capacity of the work-force. General practice in particular find it difficult to relinquish traditional roles, even when they understand the potential benefits to them in terms of reduced workload and improved patient care.