Primary healthcare development: the Teamcare Valleys’ experience

Primary healthcare (PHC) services are the centre and foundation of the healthcare system. PHC practitioners are being called on to play an active role in the commissioning of health care and to ensure that their practice in the promotion of health and treatment of illness is evidence based. In fulfiling these expectations there is a need to establish a PHC development infrastructure in order to support the development of PHC practitioners and services. PHC services have for too long been characterized by poor development opportunities and wide variations in standards of practice. This article describes the experiences of one prototype PHC development unit — Teamcare Valleys (TCV). TCV, using a multifaceted approach combining communication, education and training, research activities, support and advice, provided a resource utilized by 95% of the PHC practices in a deprived area in South Wales.