What are they & what does this mean for me?
The five Winsford GP practices began working together back in 2019/2020 as a Primary Care Network (PCN) with community services, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services in our local areas. Combined we have a local population of just over 35,000 patients.
A community of this size is small enough to provide the personal care valued by both patients and the GPs, but large enough to have impact and economies of scale through better collaboration between practices and other health care and social care providers.
Benefits For Patients:
Many patients who live with long term conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, or who have mental health issues, need to access local health and care services more often. Having Primary Care Networks enables health and social care professionals to offer more pro-active, personalised, co-ordinated and joined up health and social care for patients.
Community Benefits:
- Having joined-up primary, community and social care services will lead to better sharing of information, the PCN will work more closely with the whole team.
- Services can be offered across a network of practices that could not reasonably be offered via an individual practice.
– Examples of such services include embedding new care models for frailty, long term conditions such as diabetes and access to new healthcare professionals such as clinical pharmacists and social prescribers. - Jackie Brown, was one of the early additions to our PCN as our designated social prescriber. Many of you may know Jackie from her previous involvement with Brightlife. Jackie has a wealth of knowledge and will provide help and support to patients registered at any of the 5 Winsford Practices.
– Since Jackie joined us we have added many additional roles to our PCN, including Pharmacists, First Contact Practitioners (Physiotherapists), Social Prescribers and Care Co-Ordinators to name but a few. - Patients will be able to access a wider variety of health and social care services through PCNs and have options to access these services through more than one GP or health service.
– For example, we have recently carried out work on respiratory emergency admissions, utilising the Physician Associate role. We have worked collaboratively with the End of Life Partnership to improve advanced care planning for cancer and dementia patients. We have piloted Teledermatology in Winsford, which is now rolled out across Vale Royal and South Cheshire practices. - Working as a PCN will help smaller GP practices be more sustainable as we begin to share resources across the town for example extended hours (late evening appointments/weekend hubs via 111/OOH).
- Winsford Patient Participation Cluster Group: representatives from each of the Patient Panel members in each practice meet as a cluster group, to discuss local population and town needs rather than individual practice needs.
– If you would like to know more, please get in touch with reception and we will forward your details.