ABSTRACT
Doctors, nurses, midwives and health visitors have all trained in hospitals, where teamwork is part of the natural order. This chapter suggests practical guidelines for effective teamwork for the benefit of patients and clients, overcoming problems posed by geography, etc. The intrinsic team serves an individual patient and identifies itself. For example, for a pregnant woman and her family it will probably consist of the midwife, GP, health visitor and receptionist/dispenser, with probable liaison with a consultant obstetrician and hospital midwives. The primary healthcare team (PHCT) usually consists of one or more GPs, their employed staff and attached professionals, who are usually employed by health trusts. A community assessment in the USA6 highlighted lack of transport and routine social contact as well as inadequate links between natural and formal support systems for elderly people on Mount Desert Island, Maine. The 'telephone reassurance project' provides daily social contact and a caring relationship as well.
