Patient safety

PCN Network: Important people access primary care in way which suits them

Following the release of the findings from the latest GP Patient Survey, NHS Confederation’s PCN Network have stressed the importance of ensuring patients can access primary care offerings in a way which suits their individual needs.

As services begin to return to restart and encourage patients to increasing engage with them once more following coronavirus, many clinicians and service providers are anticipated hesitancy among many of their patients.

Ruth Rankine, Director of the NHS Confederation’s PCN Network, said: “While the majority of patients continue to have a good experience of their GP practice, it will be interesting to see how the public has responded to a greater shift to online and telephone consultations as a result of Covid-19. 

“As lockdown eases, it will be important for people to be able to access care in a way that meets their individual needs and recognises that for some, remote consultations will not be suitable.

“Working together as part of a PCN, practices will have the opportunity to offer greater flexibility in how people access a wider range of services.”

The rapid development of telemedicine and similar remote technologies have been one of the positives to have emerged out of the pandemic, but the solution will not be suitable for all patients or in all circumstances. Listen to Episode 9 of NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast as we discuss telemedicine from the perspective of a clinician using it.