The State of Primary Care: a PCN evaluation

Objectives

PCNs were introduced in 2019 to bring about close collaboration between practices to provide care for their populations and hire in a range of professionals into primary care, such as pharmacists, via the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS), to increase access and free up GP time.

The PCN evaluation report explores the wide spread of views over the success of PCNs.

Our approach

To inform this report, Cogora launched a cross-brand survey to bring together the voices of more than 1,700 health care professionals including GPs, clinical directors, nurses, pharmacists and practice managers to look at the impact PCNs and  the ARRS has had on the sector.

The survey ran across Pulse PCN and sister titles, Pulse, Healthcare Leader, Nursing in Practice, The Pharmacist, Management in Practice and Hospital Pharmacy Europe.

There were 1,795 responses from health professionals. The majority – 72% or 1,294 – of respondents work in primary care in England. There were answers from across England with all 42 ICBs represented.

This insight then fed into the State of Primary Care report, an evaluation looking at how GPs, nurses, pharmacists and managers view the impact of PCNs on their profession.

Pulse PCN editor, Victoria Vaughan, says: ‘While this survey shows positive views of the impact of PCNs on both access and care for patients from those leading and working in PCNs it highlights that the majority of GPs do not feel this way. PCNs can only succeed if they are supported by the practices which make up the network and are perceived to have a benefit to those practices.’

Since launch, the report has been promoted to our community of GPs and PCN clinical directors, via a variety of tactics, including online advertising, emails, and social media, as well as news stories on Pulse, Nursing in Practice, The Pharmacist, Management in Practice and Healthcare Leader.

The survey also informed a unique insight report examining how major changes to the NHS landscape has impacted its audiences. It captures the views of HCPs working across primary and secondary care, revealing how recent NHS reforms have impacted on their roles and how Cogora has adapted its brands to reflect the changes.

Outcome

• 3,300+ report views

The report has generated fantastic engagement and discussion, with over 3,300 views and a higher dwell time than the rest of the site.

Pulse PCN publishes numerous roundtables and reports throughout the year. Most recently, the Health Inequalities roundtable brought experts together to discuss how they are working on inclusion health groups, and coming up later in the year are roundtables on enhanced access, and the additional roles reimbursement scheme.

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