Health improvement: countervailing pillars of partnership and profession.

Purpose: The Scottish Parliament has recently formed Community Health Partnerships (CHPs), in which health and social care providers come together within a unified organisational framework. This paper aims to assess the extent to which employees identify with their profession and whether professional identity poses a significant barrier to multi-disciplinary, inter-organisational partnership.

Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a mixed methodology approach.

Multidisciplinary perspectives on core networking skills. A study of skills: and associated training needs, for professionals working in managed clinical networks.

Possessing a wide mix of non-clinical competences is important for professionals involved in managed clinical networks (MCNs). Skills that stand out are related to interpersonal issues, problem solving, decision-making, and managing change. Interprofessional and interorganizational collaboration is important in health care generally and is not confined to MCNs.

Cancer pain management in Lanarkshire: a community-based audit.

Background: A prospective, longitudinal audit of pain management in patients with cancer was conducted in an unselected community population in Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Methods: Using a modified Delphi technique, a recording form was developed and a dedicated project manager was appointed to oversee the development and implementation of the audit. Community staff recorded pain level and analgesic prescribing on consecutive home visits to patients with cancer-related pain.

Factors affecting the shift towards a 'primary care-led' NHS: a qualitative study. National Health Service.

Background: Local Health Care Cooperatives (LHCCs) and Primary Care Groups (PCGs) reflect the continuing importance of a shift towards a 'primary care-led NHS' as a health policy goal in England and Scotland. Yet many commentators have concluded that, to date, the extent of the shift has been limited. To assess the ways in which LHCCs and PCGs might develop in the future, it is necessary to understand the progress made in moving towards a primary care-led NHS and the factors that have either encouraged or hindered its development.