PCNs should contribute to the 10-year plan, says Dr Claire Fuller

You may have heard about this year’s upcoming 10-year plan for health. For us working in primary care, this plan is a radical opportunity to shift how we do things – by creating a service that’s fit and ready for the future.

The aim of this process is clear; we need to change how the service works because as you know demand is also increasing and changing. To do this, there are three central missions we need to work together to achieve:

1. Moving care from hospitals to communities
2. Making better use of technology in health and care
3. Focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it

It’s essential that we’re part of this process, and our expertise and opinions are heard to help transform services given our key role in boosting community support.

Society itself is changing, and anyone working in any setting in the NHS knows things need to evolve in a big way to accommodate this. 

As a GP myself, our services now look much different from when I began my career. And I can see first-hand the demand this change is causing, with general practices now carrying out over half of all NHS activity. 

Practices are working hard to diversify teams to provide appropriate care and increase capacity through the ARRS programme.

Last year was the first time in years we have seen an increase in the number of fully qualified GPs working in NHS General Practice. We have established PCN test sites, with the aim of gathering data to understand and demonstrate the gap between demand and capacity in primary care.

We have also launched The Red Tape Challenge, together with Government, to get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy and hand offs, so GP practices can focus on what they do best, offering cradle to grave care for their patients. 

But we know further action is needed if we’re to be able to support an ageing population with increasing complexity. The number of people in England aged 70 or over is up around a third on 2010, from 6.1 million to 8.1 million, and this group has on average five times more GP appointments than young people. 

We also have record numbers of children and young people presenting with mental health needs.

All of these complexities add to the pressure on broader GP teams and the wider NHS.

That’s why many of my colleagues are committed to working with the Government to build an NHS that’s fit for the future by supporting three key shifts, but we want your voices to be heard too.

Yesterday, I got to hear from incredible staff in the Northwest about their views, hear what they do, and what they think could be improved in our service. So if you’re reading this, and you personally have ideas on how we can change the way we do things – my message to you is clear, no matter how small or large your idea, please do come forward and share it because we need your help to make sure our NHS can continue to deliver for the public.

By Dr Claire Fuller, primary care medical director, NHS England