Focus on Primary Care Networks (PCN)
Better Care Together, the partnership of health and care providers that is working to improve healthcare across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, has published a bulletin that explains what the new NHS ‘Primary Care Networks’ are, and what benefits they are expected to bring to patients once fully established.
A much wider team of health professionals is increasingly becoming involved in patients’ care in GP practices. Through primary care networks there will be even more clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists, physician associates, community paramedics and social prescribing link workers looking after patients day-to-day.
Practice staff will also work together with other health, social care and voluntary sector organisations, to plan the care patients need and prevent ill-health in a coordinated way. These wider teams will include pharmacists, district nurses and specialists who care for certain types of conditions or groups of patients with particular needs.
GP practices will remain independent. Patients will continue to be registered at their existing GP practice and it will still be the main point of contact for their care.
Each primary care network will decide how it will provide care for its patients. Examples could include sharing health professionals between practices or offering appointments at a different practice in the network to improve access– particularly if they have a non-urgent problem or that practice specialises in an area of care they need.
You can read the whole bulletin on Rutland’s own Primary Care Network’s website.
To join the conversation on Rutland’s Primary Care Network, come to our Annual Meeting on 11 September 2019 at the Rutland Community Hub (1.30-3.30pm) where we are welcoming Dr Hilary Fox, the Clinical Director of the Rutland Primary Care Network as guest speaker.
