Patients perceive their continuity needs to be unmet by the inflexible primary care system, which needs to adapt to a society in which people receive increasingly novel treatments and live longer with complex healthcare needs. A societal perspective shift is required to understand that an MDT now shares responsibility for care, rather than an individual family doctor. Policy documents continue to focus on access, and still do not advocate strongly enough for continuity, despite unequivocal evidence demonstrating its worth.