ABSTRACT
Information and practical assistance was sought by patients who found it difficult to cope with the complexities of modern living. Clarification and assessment of the situation could be a complex process when the care of elderly people was jeopardised by conflict in their family. Sometimes the process of assessment and clarification necessitated joint consultations not only with several members of the family but with people outside and within the practice team. Assessment of a patient’s difficulties could also involve an appraisal by the practice team of their own reaction to this particular patient. On sixty-eight occasions the social worker and general practitioner agreed that the patient who had been referred for social work help was primarily needing or seeking further attention from his general practitioner. The social worker kept in touch with her during the current crisis of her only son's marriage and then reinforced her doctor's advice that she should return to work.
