Primary Care Groups: A Social Services Perspective

This article is written jointly by the Director of Social Services and the Joint Commissioning Manager from the London Borough of Greenwich. It represents their personal views on the development of primary care groups, setting out the local picture, highlighting specific issues from the social service perspective and looking at the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead.The Government's proposals for modernising the National Health Service, and in particular its proposals for the development of primary care groups, are broadly welcome. However, they do raise a number of issues not only for social services departments, but also for local authorities in general. This article is a personal perspective on what these developments might mean for social services and the challenges and opportunities which are likely to arise.