What is a Primary Care Network?
Primary Care Networks (PCN) offer a new way of organising care, bringing together all local health and care services in a local area to deliver more joined up care to local populations (usually covering around 50,000 people)
When fully developed, PCNs will include:
- GP services
- Pharmacies
- Community health services
- Mental health services
- Adult social care
- Voluntary organisations
NHS Long Term Plan
The majority of PCNs were set up in July 2019 as a response to the NHS Long Term Plan published in January 2019, which proposed a new way of delivering health and care services. It has been driven by the need to create a more joined-up, less fragmented approach to health and care, making it more personal and closer to where they live.
What can you expect from your PCN
Additional healthcare professionals are being recruited to work on behalf on Primary Care Networks. New roles include Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Pharmacists, Mental Health professionals and Social Prescribing Link Workers. By introducing a greater skill mix, local people will get more access to the support they need to keep people healthy and independent. See Who we are page for more information about the roles that are available in this PCN.
The ultimate aim is to deliver better health outcomes for the local population, as well as a reduction in health inequalities.
In the future, we will also see doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals working collectively to try to anticipate a patient’s needs, to avoid getting unwell in the first place. This will be part of a wider campaign to make people aware of the importance of taking better care of themselves to avoid future health issues.
