GP practices have begun working together alongside community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services in the local area to form Primary Care Networks (PCNs).
PCNs signal a significant change in the way practices interact not only with each other, but the wider health and social care system.
This will enable care to be delivered to a defined patient population, in a different way to meet the needs of that population. This will be focused on prevention and personalisation of care, making best use of resources collectively.
Core characteristics of a PCN:
- Partnerships of Practices working together and with other local health and care providers
- PCNs are more than a collection of practices.
- Typically, a defined patient population of at least 30,000 to 50,000.
- Providing care in different ways to match different people’s needs
- Focusing on prevention of illness and personalised care
- Assess population health needs, making best use of collective resources
- Greater resilience, more sustainable workload
The video below explains more: