From 1 July 2019, practices started to work together in ‘Primary Care Networks’ (PCNs), to share expertise and resources over wider geographical area.
The NHS’s Long Term Plan aims to integrate a lot of services which have traditionally worked separately. By working together in a PCN, practices can offer you a wider range of services than we can on our own, and give you much faster and more efficient access to the right care and support.
Each PCN will develop teams of healthcare professionals to provide tailored care for patients in their community.
Gosport West PCN and Gosport Central PCN
The two Primary Care Networks which serve Gosport are planning to join forces – in a move which will make greater use of resources to improve patient services and could attract new GPs.
NHS Hampshire Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has approved the proposed coming together of Gosport Central Primary Care Network (PCN) and Gosport West PCN as one organisation.
Our Practice is part of the existing Gosport West Primary Care Network
The new PCN will be called Gosport Primary Care Network and Gosport West PCN will be closed. The new PCN will have a combined a patient list size of approximately 84,095 people.
Please note, this change only affects the two Primary Care Networks which each GP practice in Gosport belongs to – and not our practice itself.
Our day-to-day operations will remain largely as before. You will still contact us in the same way as you do now. The way our Practice operates on a day-to-day basis will be largely unchanged.
But whilst most of you will not notice any difference, we are confident that some changes behind-the-scenes will let us to provide you with a better service – and offer up an even-wider range of health professionals to care for you when you need it.
Working as one PCN will bring together all our team skills and strengths, experience and local knowledge, build on our success and strengthen our relationships with our colleagues at NHS Southern Health Foundation Trust, Gosport Borough Council, our local schools and voluntary services, which will in turn strengthen our resilience and improve the care we provide across our services.
We will work together to continue to improve the health of our local population, designing services and roles to meet our local needs and challenges, but this will need to be supported through the delivery of seven nationally defined service specifications:
- Structured Medication Reviews (build on Pharmacists in Role to support)
- Enhanced Health in Care Homes (build on Care Homes and Frailty Teams)
- Anticipatory Care (with community services)
- Personalised Care
- Supporting Early Cancer Diagnosis
- Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Diagnosis (build on Healthy Hearts Project)
- Tackling Neighbourhood Inequalities (Developing a proactive approach to younger patients with undiagnosed hypertension)
Dr Robin Harlow, who is currently the lead doctor for Gosport Central, will become Clinical Director for the new-enlarged PCN and the PCN Manager will be Rachel Hunter – who at present holds that position for both PCNs.
Dr Robin Harlow said: “Our two PCNs have much in common, quite apart from the obvious geography of both being on the Gosport peninsula.
“Both existing PCNs face the same challenges round obesity, mental health issues and have similar priorities around how to tackle them. Having just one Primary Care Network instead of two will allow us to move in the same direction, with the same agenda, at the same time for everyone in Gosport.”
Gosport Central’s existing partnership with Southern Health also offers the opportunity to support an integrated care model across Gosport - with the aim of achieving improved patient care through better coordination of services provided.
Dr Harlow said: “Importantly, with all the pressures on primary care at present, we very much hope that by working together at scale it may attract new staff who enjoy innovation as well as see a reduction in staff movement between GP practices in Gosport.
“We have a well-established team of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, first contact practitioners and health and wellbeing coaches, there is a clear vision to support addressing existing Health Inequalities and working to improve health outcomes for the patient population, a firmly established enhanced care home team with weekly ward rounds by a multi-disciplinary team as well as community projects and close working with Gosport Voluntary Action.”
PCNs have been set up across the country and involve GP practices working with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, voluntary services and others in local areas to enable greater provision of proactive, personalised, co-ordinated and more integrated health and social care for people close to home.
Both existing Gosport PCNs were created in 2019.
At present, Gosport Central PCN comprises the Willow Group – Brune, Stoke Road, Forton and Waterside medical centres and approximately 36,512 patients.
Gosport West PCN comprises the following networked GP Practices with a combined 47,583 patients:
• Solent View Medical Practice (12.453 patients).
• Bury Road Surgery (4,534 patients)
• Gosport Medical Centre (13,163 patients)
• Rowner Health Centre (8,535 patients)
• Bridgemary Medical Centre (8,898 patients)