Handbook of Practice Management > Volume 71, Number 0 > Pp. 2-01-2-34

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2. The primary health care team

This chapter looks at the people who work in, and make up, the primary health care team (PHCT). This includes different clinical professional groups such as doctors, nurses, therapists and also those essential members of the team who provide managerial and administrative support. This section will provide practice managers with the essential information they need about each member of the PHCT. Practice managers have responsibility for ensuring that the PHCT has the capacity and expertise to provide high quality care for the patient population and will increasingly be working with the primary care trust on workforce planning. Practice managers need to understand what each member of the team has been trained to do and how this translates into specific job descriptions, roles and skill mix. Good teamwork is essential and relies on each member taking on specific roles for which they have been trained and prepared. Recruitment of replacement and additional staff requires careful consideration, as there may be an opportunity to look again at the roles and responsibilities of all the team and consider a new skill mix. It is also important to understand the role of the practice manager in monitoring the performance of individual team members, which may also involve registration with professional bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Medical Council. It is clear that practice managers need to understand what they can expect from each member of the team and how to support each of them in order to maintain and improve their skills.

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