Interprofessionality in health and social care: the Achilles' heel of partnership?

Partnership working is now a central plank of public policy in the UK, especially in the field of health and social care. However, much of the policy thrust has been at the level of interorganisational working rather than at the level of interprofessional partnerships. The empirical and theoretical literature is largely sceptical about the feasibility of effective joint working between separate but related professionals--the 'pessimistic tradition'. Based upon an empirical study of general practitioners, community nurses and social workers in northern England, this article challenges such a tradition and proposes an 'optimistic hypothesis' for further investigation.