Council calls for action to strengthen primary care services in Buckinghamshire

Democracy and Local Affairs, Health and Social Care

Buckinghamshire Council’s Health and Adult Social Care (HASC) Select Committee has today (Tuesday 15 November) reported the findings of an independent review into the progress of the development of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across the county and has made a series of key recommendations.

Presenting the report to the council’s Cabinet, Chair of the HASC Select Committee, Councillor Jane MacBean, explained the purpose of the review was to delve deeper into the way Primary Care Networks have developed and established themselves across Buckinghamshire since they were introduced as part of the NHS Long-Term Plan in 2019.

Primary Care Networks bring together groups of GP practices in a geographical area, to work collaboratively with each other in managing patient and community needs. Buckinghamshire currently has 13 PCNs. Their aim is to provide communities with better access to a broad range of tailored healthcare services and to encourage enhanced partnership working.

In September 2020 a report presented to the committee raised some concerns about the pace at which PCNs were developing in Buckinghamshire. To address the concerns the select committee decided to undertake an inquiry to look at the matter in more detail, to gain a better understanding of current working practices, to gain insight into the key challenges and to look at opportunities to share best practice and improve partnership working.

The report highlights some key areas of concern:

  • PCNs are continuing to develop at very different rates across Buckinghamshire particularly when it comes to recruitment into some new community health care roles including mental health practitioners, nurses and paramedics
  • Many GP surgeries are struggling with increased demands and pressures on accommodation and staffing levels
  • The role played by Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) in working together with PCNs to improve services and patient experiences varies widely and could be greatly enhanced
  • Many GP websites appear to have out of date information and are not user friendly for patients
  • Work to bring together services under the umbrella of the newly formed Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) earlier this year has impacted some elements of PCN development following the disbanding of the former Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Jane MacBean commented: “This inquiry was by no means an attempt to criticise our healthcare colleagues for failing to achieve what is clearly a big ask. We have seen many examples of great work going on and it is our intention to share these learnings. Primarily what we wanted to do was to gain a greater understanding of the issues facing GP practices and PCNs in meeting the demands of the NHS’s Long-Term Plan and to look at how we as a local authority can support these changes and developments so we can work together to bring about improvements for our communities.”

The report makes 17 recommendations which include:

  • Calling on the BOB ICB to make a strong commitment to supporting the development of PCNs in Buckinghamshire
  • Joint working between Buckinghamshire Council and the ICB to align future primary care provision and closer links between health and social care practitioners and services
  • An annual report to be presented to HASC on the performance and development of PCNs
  • The appointment of a dedicated Network Manager role within each PCN
  • ICB investment to improve GP websites and ensure PCN teams have access to the IT and other equipment needed to carry out their roles
  • Enhance and develop the role played by PPGs in supporting PCNs and liaising with local communities
  • Develop closer working relationships between PCNs and local Community Boards
  • Improve communications across the board to enhance joint working and share best practice

Angela Macpherson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adults and Health said: “I welcome this in-depth report which showcases the hard work that has already been done to develop Primary Care Networks across Buckinghamshire and highlights what needs to be done now to focus efforts on regaining that momentum to create patient focused services that meet the needs of our local communities.”

Angela continued: “We know that the past few years have been incredibly tough on our colleagues in the health care service and as a council we are committed to working together with them to bring about the changes needed. Primary care is the lynchpin of our healthcare service and so it is important that our PCNs are robust and able to meet the demands placed on them.”

To view the report and the full list of recommendations visit the council website.