Since 1997, Labour Governments have championed partnership working as part of a commitment to develop a new public health agenda. Multidisciplinary and multiagency working have been placed at the heart of attempts to tackle widening health inequalities, with Primary Care Trusts (PCT) being placed at the forefront of a corporate approach to delivering improvements in individual, community and population well-being. However, observed practice in relation to public health collaboration has rarely met the challenge of past policy prescriptions. Furthermore, we have limited understanding of who is best placed to meet the challenge of securing public health partnerships within a primary care led National Health Service (NHS). This paper reviews the need for PCT involvement in partnership working, assesses the potential contribution primary care nurses can make to the co-ordinated delivery of the new public health agenda, and identifies key issues for policy and practice. It concludes that nurses have the opportunity to play a key role in the development of partnerships for improved public health at the PCT level. However, it also notes that the development of such functions will require an expansion of existing nursing roles, a willingness to take on a more overtly political role, and a deeper consideration of the constituents of successful collaborative action for improved public health.