PCNs a key part of new NHS England initiative

Selected PCNs will play a key role in a new NHS England initiative to test new ways of working within general practice, including more flexible staffing models, data and process automation.

In a letter sent to integrated care boards (ICBs) today, NHS England said PCNs would be test sites to develop data driven insight into the GP operating model over a two-year period.

This is to understand what PCNs will need in the long term to deliver the vision set out in the 2022 Fuller stocktake ‘consistently and sustainably’.

Participating PCNs will have different demographic and geographical characteristics across a range of locations, it said. Those who take part will also receive support to generate ‘robust data’.

The letter said: ‘The proposal put forward was for you, as a group of ICBs, to work closely together and with a small number of primary care networks to determine the operational changes and improvements that would optimise the general practice operating model, and support GPs and wider practice teams to meet increasing demand and complexity across urgent and proactive care.

‘NHS England wants to work in partnership with you to help gather and share the learning from this exercise to better support general practice. The data and evidence that is generated will bring benefits for GPs, the wider workforce, and patients.’

Seven ICBs will work with PCNs to formulate these ways of working, with it led by Suffolk and North East Essex ICB.

It has previously been reported that ICBs had been putting forward plans to separate same-day access from general practice, which would leave practices with the responsibility for routine appointments only. It has been claimed this is in line with recommendations in the Fuller report.

At the end of March, NHS England said PCNs and community services should be more aligned as a step towards building integrated community teams, in a priorities and operational planning guidance document.

It also called on ICBs to set up an integrated care coordination (ICC) service that will ‘support GPs and integrated neighbourhood teams’.

NHS England said this should include access to urgent community response, acute respiratory infection hubs and falls services and added that systems ‘may wish to extend this option to include SDEC [same day emergency care], acute frailty services or virtual wards’.

It said: ‘ICCs will support GPs and integrated neighbourhood teams to manage the escalation of patients with urgent and complex needs at home (including care homes), avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions.

‘There should be clear pathways from 111, 999 and other services into each ICC, and ambulance crews should be supported to embed call before convey in local practice.’