Prospects for collaboration in primary care: relationships between social services and the new PCGs

The article considers the relationships established between the new Primary Care Groups (PCGs) in England and Social Services Departments. It reports on qualitative research into localisation and collaboration in PCGs and reviews the main factors involved in the creation of collaborative relationships. Collaboration is a required element of planning in primary care but the extent and nature of its realisation is shaped by the particular interaction of local history with the new structures. Four localities were chosen for the qualitative stage of the research in order to learn how local configurations and existing relationships affected, and were affected by, the PCG. The article identifies the complex relationships which exist between PCGs and social services and the discusses the main features in promoting or undermining collaboration.