ABSTRACT
The Newtown Health Centre comprises a three-doctor partnership in a commercial inner-city area with a high incidence of single-parent families, teenage pregnancies and smoking. There is also a large elderly population, with a lot of respiratory disease from the local steelworks. The health authority agreed to support the process as part of its plans to support continuing professional development. It agreed with the practice's belief that such an exercise would bring together 'the different perception, information systems, contributions, skills and needs of the people who manage, deliver and receive health care in the community setting'. The practice worked with real commitment. The quality and timeliness of the homework was evidence of the practice team's hard work, commitment and understanding of the project. Problems of communication and misunderstanding were ironed out, and people felt able to challenge each other when attitudinal or behavioural issues got in the way of day-today working relationships.
