Pulse PCN’s Inclusion Health roundtable

Objectives

Launched in July 2024, Pulse PCN’s inclusion health roundtable, tackling health inequalities: How PCNs are working with inclusion health groups, brought three experts from London, Hertfordshire and Kent to discuss the approach taken by different PCNs to dealing with inclusion health groups.

Inclusion health groups cover people who are socially excluded, who typically experience multiple overlapping risk factors for poor health, such as poverty, violence and complex trauma.

Our approach

Drawing on our database of trusted experts, Pulse PCN welcomed three key opinion leaders in this area to take part in the discussion. Dr Shanika Sharma, Clinical Director and health inequalities lead, Barking and Dagenham PCN, in London, Dr Sian Stanley, Clinical Director, Stort Valley and Villages PCN, Hertfordshire, and Dr Prema Ravi, Clinical Director, Orpington PCN, Kent (October 2019 to February 2024).

The delegates discussed the challenges facing some areas and communities, engagement with these groups, staff training, ICB inputs and directive, ARRS, and the future of the service and working with integrated neighbourhood teams.

Dr Shanika Sharma highlighted that inclusion groups in her area are not very forthcoming in presenting to primary care, so they started to go out to them: ‘We did a borough-wide health and wellbeing pop-up, and we had 7,500 residents attend’.

Dr Sian Stanley shared that: ‘So much of this work is about relationships and trust’, as engagement can be a real challenge with some of these groups. She also added that: ‘The work is changing perceptions. When you look at the way primary care is portrayed in the national press, it’s soul-destroying. But our local press thinks we’re great and, in turn, that’s changed the vibe and the feeling towards primary care locally…the feeling and philosophy around what we’ve been doing – has completely changed, and I think that’s really important’.

Since launch, the roundtable has been promoted to our community of GPs and PCN clinical directors, via our sister publications Pulse, Management in Practice and The Pharmacist, through a variety of tactics, including online advertising, emails, and social media.

Outcome

The roundtable has generated good engagement and discussion since launch, with over 600 views.

Given that there are only around 1,250 PCN Clinical Directors, achieving 600 views represents a significant level of interest and reach. This engagement highlights the relevance and impact of the content, as nearly half of our audience has interacted with the roundtable, underscoring its value within a small yet highly specialised community.

Pulse PCN publishes numerous roundtables and reports throughout the year. Most recently, The State of Primary Care: a PCN evaluation report, which looked at what the last five years of PCNs have meant for primary care professionals.

Coming up later in the year are roundtables on enhanced access, and the additional roles reimbursement scheme.

Our commitment to understanding our audience – their needs and the challenges they face – translates into tangible benefits, delivering solutions that resonate, strategies that engage, and experiences that inspire action.

Pulse PCN’s roundtable series is part of our comprehensive offering for our community of PCN clinical directors and their teams. And they are hosted on the dedicated Pulse PCN site making it easier to access these great clinician-led debates.

Please contact us for details on our upcoming content, as well as available advertising packages.