A quarter of PCNs have premises to provide care face-to-face

One quarter of PCNs have a dedicated physical estate to provide face-to-face care to their patients, according to a Pulse PCN survey.

The results found that of the 227 PCN representatives who responded, 26% said they had a premises for face-to-face care. Most of these (20%) were premises that already existed and were bought or rented by the PCN, and the rest (6%) of which were purpose-built.

Another 6% said they were planning to either get purpose-built premises or buy existing ones.

Most PCNs however (60%) did not have premises for this and were not planning to.

One PCN respondent said they were working from 'inadequate premises' but the ICB had 'no money to fund' a new one.

Another said: 'We have failed to receive any funding to find suitable accommodation for our clinical staff. and staff are spread around the GP surgeries or working from home.'

Others said ARRS staff were 'squeezed in' or they were 'beyond capacity'.

The survey also found that only a third (33%) had premises for back office functions, with 54% saying they had no plans for this.

Only 21% of PCN representatives also reported that they had a premises for remote care.

Last week it was also revealed that PCNs are struggling to recruit pharmacists and advanced nurse practitioners.

Earlier this year estates were highlighted as a big issue in a study on whether the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) was able to fulfil its objectives, with some participants in the study saying this was a barrier to the success of PCNs.

The authors said: ‘The majority of those interviewed, from GPs through to clinical directors, commented on the lack of a suitable room for the AR staff, and the AR staff themselves told us this was a problem. This was so significant in some areas as to be seen as a potential obstacle to the success of PCNs.’

Middleton PCN in Rochdale recently told Pulse PCN of its experience using a shopping centre to deliver care, as a solution for its estates problem.

This survey was a joint survey with our sister title Pulse and open between 19 September and 18 October 2024, collating responses using the SurveyMonkey tool. After removing duplicate entries from the same primary care network, a total of 227 PCN representatives from England responded to these questions. The survey was advertised to our readers via our website and email newsletter, with a prize draw for a £200 John Lewis voucher as an incentive to complete the survey. The survey was unweighted, and we do not claim this to be scientific – only a snapshot of the PCN population.