Primary Care Networks
In this section of the toolkit, there are resources for GPs, primary care staff and commissioners developing primary care network services across a locality.
Primary care at scale, in the form of primary care networks (PCNs), involves community teams wrapping around groups of GP practices to respond to patients’ holistic needs and leading to more tailored interventions, efficient service delivery and improved health outcomes. www.england.nhs.uk/primary-care/primary-care-networks.
As PCNs continue to develop, they will use different approaches to ensure that they serve the entirety of their patient population. This set of resources has been designed to support PCNs looking to improve their offering to CYP.
Research commissioned from the Association of Young People’s Health (AYPH) to ascertain and describe what young people want from their local PCNs show the kind of support that young people are seeking. For example, PCNs need to take proactive steps to ensure young people understand what services are available and are made to feel welcome. The report also highlights how young people want to access care, who they want to see in primary care, the support that is particularly important to this patient group and their priorities.
AYPH has also put together an engagement methodology for local organisations to undertake their own engagement process if they wish to do so as well as a slidepack for organisations.
There are CYP-specific considerations for PCNs undertaking workforce planning. These resources have been designed to support PCNs working alone or in tandem with others to consider the specific needs of their young patients as they develop a workforce that meets the needs of the whole population.
A set of case studies describes models of care in place in the UK and elsewhere that may be helpful for PCNs in planning how to meet the needs of local CYP.
And finally, PCNs will need to link with different organisations in relation to CYP compared to their older patients. This set of additional resources describes these linkages, using asthma and mental health as exemplars. A set of principles that underpin how PCNs organise their CYP-focused services and other resources, alongside tips for how primary care can improve links with the wider care system, are included here. This work draws on previous work undertaken by the CYP pan London GP leadership group. In particular a set of I statements based on the You’re Welcome Standards which highlights what young people should expect from primary care. These statements may be useful when assessing how young people friendly organisations are.
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