Primary Care Networks are a way for several general practices to collaborate. They are intended to help practices:
- to offer more co-ordinated services,
- to provide better ways for patients to access a wider range of health care professionals.
They will also make more use of digital services.
The regulations around Primary Care Networks have been incorporated into the contract that each GP practice has with the NHS.
Why were they set-up?
In January 2019 NHS England published a 10-year plan for the NHS. It is designed to tackle 3 key issues. These are:
1) Limits to the amount of funding
2) Shortages of clinical staff, especially GPs
3) Growing pressures from an increasing and ageing population.
Practices working together with other health service providers will make patient care more co-ordinated and easier to access, whilst making the GP workload more sustainable.
There are five PCNs that cover the Oxford city area.
Oxford Patient Network 