Primary Care in the UK

STEPHEN PECKHAM is Reader in Health Policy at Oxford Brookes University. He is co-author of The Management of Public Involvement in Health Care Purchasing (1998).MARK EXWORTHY is a Research Fellow in the International Centre for Health and Society at University College London. He is co-editor (with Susan Halford) of Professionals and the New Managerialism in the Public Sector (1998).

'The UK's primary care literature has been crying out for good policy and research textbooks, and this is a refreshing response to that need. It documents with great clarity, yet in meticulous detail, the evolution of primary care over the past two centuries...a valuable and well-research contribution to the literature of UK primary care. It is particularly strong in its assessment of policy context and development.' - Health Service Journal 'This book equips the reader with an extensive examination of primary care issues and will be of particular benefit to students of contemporary health and social policy.' - Maureen Beech,Journal of Community Nursing 'This is possibly one of the most comprehensive texts on primary care to date...one destined to become a valuable resource, particularly for students examining management-related issues in the NHS.' - Linda Crofts, Nusing Standard 'The book's strengths lie in bringing together in one place, and analysing in a policy context over time, so many different aspects of primary care. The authors are to be congratulated on providing a new and fascinating insight into such a complex policy arena.' - Public Health

• PrefacePART ONEPrimary Care in the UK: The ContextPolicy Perspectives on Primary CarePrimary Care: Definitions and Applications in UK PolicyThe Development of Primary Care Policy in the UKThe Organisation of Primary Care in the UKPART TWO Primary Care in ActionPrimary Care CommissioningInter-Professional Working in Primary CareHealth and Social Care Partnership at the Primary Care LevelPatients, the Public and Primary CarePrimary Care and Public HealthPART THREEConclusions: Directions for Primary Care.