PCNs will need to reduce clinical staff to meet budgets, say leaders

Around three quarters of PCNs and GP Federations will have to reduce their clinical staff to meet their targets, according to a survey by NHS Confederation.

The research, which was carried out between April and May 2024, surveyed 110 leaders across ICBs, trusts and primary care providers, including PCNs and federations.

It found that 75% of PCNs and GP federations would have to reduce their clinical staffing to meet their budgets in 2024/25, while 79% said they would reduce their non-clinical staff.

The survey also showed that over half (57%) of primary care leaders were not confident that they would be able to meet their contracted service requirements in this financial year. Only 11% said they were confident they would be able to deliver the contracted services.

One PCN leader said: ‘For the last few months my practice has had to use its overdraft each month to aid cash flow. Minimum wage has increased. Practice expenses have increased. Staff costs expected to rise this year and we won’t replace a nurse who is relocating. PCN practices are all constrained by finances. Planning extended access has been challenging.’

Another commented: ‘We have a very serious need to invest in neighbourhood hubs. We have no void space, we have no hub-like facilities, we have a new hospital build to accommodate with lower capacity, that requires increased out-of-hospital capacity. We have a population growth close to 2 per cent per year. Plus the normal national increases in patient demands and contract demands. And we have 25% of our general practices at risk of closure in the next five years, half of whom would take their premises with them.’

NHS Confederation called for a longer-term strategy for the NHS.

It said: ‘NHS leaders and their staff are being required to make substantial savings in the space of a few months. Doing so undermines their attempts to address productivity issues in a strategic way around a plan as they often end up having to make cuts to balance the books in the short term.

‘A long-term and more strategic approach to planning is urgently needed if the NHS is to move away from the ‘boom and bust’ cycle that it is experiencing.’

It comes as PCN staff have called on the next government to prioritise pay for NHS staff, alongside recruiting GPs and improving ambulance response times.