The ethnic minority linkworker: a key member of the primary health care team?

We present an evaluation of the role of a link-worker trained in health promotion and aspects of chronic disease management. A shift in workload occurred from the practice nurse to link-worker, and there were improvements in asthma and diabetes care. A link-worker can be successfully trained to do traditional nursing tasks, which permits a change of role for the practice nurse and can have a beneficial effect on the processes of chronic disease management.