Catharine Bryan reviews a series of books published recently by Optima, which aim to provide lay people and professionals with insights into some common medical disorders

Preventative care and health promotion are beginning to feature more prominently in primary care. General practitioners have always recognised the need to ensure that people stay healthy; however, the imposition of the new contract (1) has increased the responsibilities for screening, anticipatory care and health promotion. Often much of the workload generated by these new responsibilities is delegated to nurses.