The Guide to Navigating the PCN DES 26/27

One of the goals of the PCN Members Club is to save you time and make your life easier.

So... when the PCN DES 26-27 dropped on 26th March, we were poised and ready to update our salary calculators, create a ready-to-present PowerPoint deck, and update our financial entitlements tool and searchable resource Ask THC, which knows our content and the NHS guidance.

Everything in one place.

Let's jump in!

1.The PCN DES 26/27 Key Changes

The PCN DES 2026/27 was published on 26 March 2026. It runs to over 100 pages.

We have gone through it and turned it into a 13-slide PowerPoint deck you can use straight away. Edit as you wish and present this to your PCN network.

You will need to be logged in to your members' club account to access these resources

2.The PCN DES 26/27 Must-Do's and PCN Tracker

Whilst a lot of the DES is business as usual, we've created this tracker so you can evidence compliance in one place, and keep track of the must-do requirements

You will need to be logged in to your members' club account to access these resources found here.

A summary can also be found here.

3.There's a new section in templates and downloads

We've created a dedicated section for 2026/27.

You'll find the DES summary of changes, the GP contract letter summary PowerPoint, and a deck designed to help you think through how you're going to frame the GP contract changes for your practices and colleagues.

If you haven't worked through that framing yet, it's worth a look.

You will need to be logged in to your members' club account to access this here.

4.Your salary calculators have also been updated.

The PCN ARRS Salary Calculator now covers both 2025/26 and 2026/27 in a single tool. Switch between years with one click, run annual and hourly calculations, and export to CSV.

Our new and improved calculator can be found here.

For those of you not in the members' club, a light version is available here.

5.The financial entitlements calculator

The financial entitlements calculator now reflects the 2026/27 network financial entitlements as set out in the Network Contract DES specification, so you can calculate what your PCN is entitled to under the new rates.

This is freely available to everyone and can be found here.

If you have specific questions about the 2026/27 DES or need help navigating our blogs, don't forget AskTHC.

AskTHC has been trained on all of our content and the relevant NHS guidance. It's there to give you a direct answer rather than making you search for it.

Aren't you glad you're a member 😀? If not, what are you waiting for?

Join the members club today

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