Exclusive: A majority of CDs plan to leave their role in the next 3 years

The majority of clinical directors (CDs) plan to leave their role in the next three years according to an exclusive Pulse PCN survey.

The survey, published in our State of Primary Care: A PCN Evaluation report, found that 40% of clinical directors (CDs) plan to stay in their role for a maximum of three years, 13% of these respondents said they wanted to stay in the role for less than a year and 27% say they’d stay for one to three years.

Only a quarter (25%) said they wanted to stay in the role for more than five years.

The report surveyed over 1,700 healthcare professionals, including GPs, CDs, nurses, pharmacists and practice managers and looked at the impact of PCNs. Of these, 65 (6%) were clinical directors.

Respondents suggested that the demands of the CD role have increased over the past three years, with 28% saying they spend 16-20 hours a week in the role and a further 38% over 20 hours.

Only 16% said they spend up to 10 hours a week, which was the most common response to this question in our 2021 report.

One CD at Medics PCN, Luton, Manraj Barhey, said his role as a CD had grown hugely after going from no staff to 28 members of staff who need managing and training.

‘It is our job to set the strategic direction and the biggest problem has been having CDs who are trained in those leadership roles,’ he said in the report.

CDs also reported that more appointments per week are being lost to CD activity, with 10% saying 26-30 hours are lost, and an additional 8% saying 41-45. In 2021, most CDs reported this number to be 16-20 hours of appointment time lost.

The report also found that over half of CDs believe PCNs have improved patient access to primary care.

To read the full report click here.

The State of Primary Care survey took place between April 29 and May 20 2024 across Pulse PCN and our sister titles, Pulse, Healthcare Leader, Nursing in Practice, The Pharmacist, Management in Practice, Hospital Healthcare Europe and Hospital Pharmacy Europe.

There were 1,795 responses from health professionals. The majority – 72% or 1,294 – of respondents work in primary care in England. There were answers from across England with all 42 ICBs represented.