Navigating the Neighbourhood Health Agenda: A Reading Guide for PCN Leaders
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
The neighbourhood health agenda is moving quickly, and the volume of guidance, commentary and contractual change can make it hard to know where to start.
This collection brings together eight pieces published on THC Primary Care to help you build a working picture of what is happening, what it means for your network, and what you can do now. Whether you are new to this topic or have been tracking it closely, the pieces are designed to be read in sequence or dipped into depending on what you need.
Understand the Landscape
Read this if you want to understand why neighbourhood health matters for the future of your PCN.
Read this
If you are asking whether PCNs have a long-term role in the new architecture. This piece uses Ben Gowland’s framing to examine the neighbourhood as the new organising unit and what that means for networks that have not yet begun to position themselves.
Read this
If your network is starting to have neighbourhood conversations internally or with your ICB. Before the contracts arrive, how you frame the shift matters. This piece looks at the language and positioning choices available to PCN leaders right now.
Read this
If you have already tried to move the conversation forward and it has stalled. This piece looks at why networks struggle to reach agreement on neighbourhood working and what a more productive approach to those conversations could look like.
Understand the Policy
Read this if you need to know what the documents actually say.
Read this
If the terminology is getting in the way. This piece maps the three-tier model across System, Place and Neighbourhood, explains the organisations operating at each level, and sets out what SNPs, MNPs and IHOs mean in practice. A useful starting point before reading the contract architecture in detail.
Read this
If you want to understand the new contract architecture. This piece sets out what SNPs, MNPs and IHOs are, how they relate to one another, and where PCNs currently sit within the emerging framework.
Read this
If you want to know how performance will be measured between now and March 2029. This piece outlines what ICBs and systems are being asked to deliver and the goals your network is likely to be tracked against.
TAKE ACTION
Read this if you are ready to assess where your network stands and what to do next.
Read this if you want to understand what good governance looks like for a network aiming to be contract-ready. This piece covers the three-tier model, director responsibilities, and an actionable checklist for PCN leaders
Read this if you want to benchmark your network against what the guidance already requires. The self-assessment can be completed now, before formal contracts are available, and is intended to surface where preparation work is needed.
The pieces work best read in order, but each stands on its own. Start where it is most useful.
PCN Plus Live 2026... Are You Coming?
We’re excited to announce that PCN Plus Live 2026 is just around the corner.
This year’s event will focus on one of the biggest questions facing primary care: How do we move from networks to neighbourhoods?
Join us at PCN Plus Live 2026 in Nottingham on 22 April, alongside leaders from across the country, sharing what is actually working on the ground. In-person and online tickets available.
About Us
THC Primary Care is an award-winning healthcare consultancy specialising in Primary Care Network Management and the creator of the Business of Healthcare Podcast. With over 20 years in the industry, we've supported more than 200 PCNs through interim management, training, and consultancy.
Our expertise spans project management and business development across both private and public sectors. Our work has been published in the London Journal of Primary Care, and we've authored over 250 blog posts sharing insights on primary care networks.
Check out our facilitation services here: https://www.thcprimarycare.co.uk/primary-care-network-facilitation
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