Nursing in primary care: lessons from St Petersburg

The purpose of this paper is to undertake a comparative examination of nursing within the primary care setting in both Russia and Britain. The paper outlines the value to both nurses currently working within primary care, and purchasers of nursing care, by drawing upon the experiences of nurses working in the less economically advanced environments of the former eastern bloc. It is suggested that this more global perspective will contribute to the re-appraisal of the development of British nursing in primary care. The authors will argue that given the opportunities afforded to nursing in the new Primary Care Act (1997), and specifically the explicit recognition of nursing to healthcare provision, British nurses should seize the opportunity to develop their practice.