ABSTRACT
We have already explained that each individual is part of, and influenced by, a variety of organising contexts – physical, historical, financial, spiritual, cultural, family and relational. This not only applies to patients but also to the clinicians working in primary care settings. There is the context of the team which is affected by ever-changing political and economic priorities. New – or old – ideologies shape these priorities. Then there are the professional and personal beliefs that we all bring to our workplace. The systemic approach lends itself to helping clinicians and primary care teams to view their beliefs and actions in context. In reality, many primary care teams do not feel that they work very well together. Just like families, they may work better at some times than others, they contain members with quite different ideas about how to proceed. They have often grown in size over the years but may still be using rules that worked better for families of the 1950s!
