I agree wholeheartedly with Pam Cooper (Letters, 4 June) that health promotion specialists, by virtue of their experience in working across agency boundaries for many years, have the potential to make a major contribution to the development of health improvement programmes and primary care groups, given the organisational position of health promotion services in many health authorities and trusts. But how likely is it that this potential will be realised?

Steve Peckham in his discussion of a public health model of primary care ('The missing link', pages 22-23, 28 May), drew attention to 'the need to reduce power differentials between... different professional groups'. Questioning the relative status of health promotion and public health medicine is a good place to start.

Jean Sunter

Health promotion specialist

Coventry health authority