The Latest Primary Care Network Guidance Documents Updated in June 2023

To support you in having the latest Primary Care Network documents and links close to hand, we have compiled these into one central resource and linked these to some of our summaries.

In this resource, you will find the latest guidance regarding:

The PCN DES
Impact and investment fund
GP Contract
PCN Ready Reckoner
Delivery Plan for recovering access
The service development funding and general practice IT funding guidance 23/24
The NHS Workforce Plan

Let's jump in!

1. The updated PCN DES Document 2023/24

The 23/24 PCN DES can be found here. The document was updated on 2nd June 2023. Our initial summary can be found here.

2. Network Contract DES – Investment and Impact Fund (IIF) guidance for 2023/24

This document can be found here.

3. The Latest PCN Ready Reckoner

The updated PCN Ready Reckoner reflects the recent changes and updates to the PCN income, maximum reimbursable ARRS rates, which was updated with new reimbursable rates from 1st July 2023.

This document can be found here.

You may also find our blog titled How to approach Primary Care Network pay rises in 2023 and beyond help you approach the pay increases helpful.

4. The GP Contract

On the 6th of March 2023, NHSE published a letter which shared:

Practices will be required to procure their telephony solutions only from the Better Purchasing Framework once their current telephony contracts expire.
To ensure consistency in the access that patients can expect, the GP contract will be updated to make clear, that patients should be offered an assessment of need or signposted to an appropriate service at the first contact with the practice.

The full letter can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/changes-to-the-gp-contract-in-2023-24/

Check out 10 Top Tips for Management of the Primary Care GP Contract Changes provided by Dr Andy Foster

5. Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care

This is a national document which aims to improve access to general practice, by incentivising practices to ensure they have cloud base telephony, increasing appointments using the PCN multi-professional team and signposting to other services alongside NHSE, reducing bureaucracy.

This document was released on 9th May 2023 and can be found here.

6. The service development funding and general practice IT funding guidance 23/24

The overall aim of the funding is to deliver an improved experience of access for patients, better continuity of care where most needed, and improved job satisfaction for staff.

In 2022/23, there were eight separate funding allocations. For 2023/24, there is now one single Primary Care transformation allocation (with the aim of reducing bureaucracy). This is a document you should be aware of, and from my point of view, I would take time to digest this, along with any relevant ICB communications, to ensure you are fully abreast of the offers being made available. However, no urgent action on your part is required.

Our summary of this document can be found here.

7. The NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan was issued by NHS England on Friday, 30th June 2023.

The plan is not supposed to be the total solution which will fully meet all of the workforce needs in the NHS. It is, however, the first step in a process of frequent planning that will change and grow as service needs develop.

The plan is the first time the government has asked the NHS to come up with a comprehensive workforce plan.

Its strapline, or three core elements, is to Train, Retain and Reform.

Our summary can be found here.

If in doubt, everything can be found here at NHSE.

We hope this helps.

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About the Author

I'm Tara; I am the founder of THC Primary Care, an award-winning healthcare consultancy specialising in Primary Care Network Management and the host of the Business of Healthcare Podcast, where we have now published over 200 episodes. I have over 20 years of project management and business development experience across the private and public sectors, and I have supported over 120 PCNs by providing interim management, training and consultancy.

I have managed teams across multiple sites and countries; I have an MBA in Leadership and Management in Healthcare, I'm published in the London Journal of Primary Care, and I am the author of over 250 blogs.

I have 3 children. My eldest has Asthma, my middle child has a kidney condition called Nephrotic Syndrome, and my youngest daughter has Type 1 Diabetes, so outside of work, healthcare plays a huge role in my life.