Pulse PCN’s enhanced access roundtable

Pulse PCN’s latest roundtable, Enhanced access: How it works for PCNs, practices and patients, brings clinical directors together to discuss how they have implemented this core PCN service.

Enhanced access was one of the major changes brought in with the PCN contract in 2022. It requires appointments to be offered between the hours of 6.30pm and 8pm Mondays to Fridays and between 9am and 5pm on Saturdays.

The measure was introduced to support patients who wanted appointments in general practice and to help ease the 8am rush at surgeries. This roundtable looks at what impact this measure has had on PCNs, practices and patients.

Four clinical directors and a PCN manager from areas across England including London, Shropshire and Cheshire, evaluate the service in their PCN and the challenges and benefits of offering extended appointment access to patients.

The delegates discuss the service set up, workload, staffing, supervision and patient views in this lively discussion covering the ever-present issue of patient access.

For Dr Shanika Sharma, clinical director of West One PCN in East London, the service was a progression from the extended access her area already offered, whereas for Dr Stefan Waldendorf, clinical director of Newport and Central PCN, Shropshire, it was new territory which saw his PCN setting up an entirely new

They raise initial issues around access to medical records and sharing information between practices and while they agree that patients like it, and it’s here to stay, it ultimately adds up to more work for GPs. As Dr Gayan Perera, enhanced access lead at Medics PCN, Luton, says, ‘Overall, it does provide better access for patients, which is a positive. But there’s no way around it – the more access you give, the more work is generated.’

Pulse PCN editor Victoria Vaughan says: ‘This roundtable shows the different approaches and challenges PCNs face when delivering enhanced access. This service is crucial when it comes to accessing primary care and will no doubt have a role in the new government’s push to neighbourhood health centres.’

Pulse PCN’s quarterly roundtables examine the core tasks PCNs must deliver as part of the PCN Network DES and the work of the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS) staff they have hired into primary care.

Read 15 thought-provoking roundtables covering topics such as health inequalities, digital transformation, structured medication reviews and early cancer diagnosis led by clinical directors from across England.

Pulse PCN’s roundtable series is part of our comprehensive offering for our community of primary care network (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.

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