Since the NHS was created in 1948, the population has grown and people are living longer. Many people are living with long term conditions such as diabetes and heart disease or suffer with mental health issues and may need to access their local health services more often.
To meet these needs, GP practices are working together with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services in their local areas in groups of practices known as primary care networks (PCNs).
PCNs build on the core of current primary care services and enable greater provision of proactive, personalised, coordinated and more integrated health and social care. Clinicians describe this as a change from reactively providing appointments to proactively caring for the people and communities they serve. Where emerging PCNs are in place in parts of the country, there are clear benefits for patients and clinicians.
PCNs are small enough to provide the personal care valued by both people and GPs, but large enough to have impact and economies of scale through better collaboration between GP practices and others in the local health and social care system.
PCNs are led by clinical directors who may be a GP, general practice nurse, clinical pharmacist or other clinical profession working in general practice.
We want to support patients to make informed decisions about their health care and to connect them to the most appropriate health or social care provider to ensure health care that is timely, safe and all encompassing.
Services in general practice and the community are being transformed to make it easier for you to access a wider range of help from your surgery. This is part of the NHS Long Term Plan to offer people further choice and more joined-up healthcare.
More healthcare professionals including Clinical Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Paramedics, Physician Associates, Dieticians, Health and Wellbeing Coaches, and Social Prescribing Link Workers are being recruited nationally to work alongside GPs in wider networks of practices. This means you will be able to access more services closer to home.
Mountfield Surgery is a member of Barnet PCN6. This is a Primary Care Network comprising of 6 Barnet Practices in Church End Finchley & Golders Green
