As the Federation has grown and matured over its third year of operation, we have developed our role and influence on behalf of our members.
You can read all the details in our latest Annual Report by clicking on the download button below.
Increasingly, we are playing a key role supporting, facilitating and delivering innovation and joint working – at individual Practice, PCN and ELR-wide levels. A key part of this work has been to support the development of the six localities’ working arrangements.
We have also continued to develop our role as an effective voice for our practices with commissioners and decision-makers.
Importantly, we have played a significant role in supporting the creation and start-up of Primary Care Networks across ELR.
Supporting Transformation Fund innovation
A key achievement of the Federation over the last year has been its work to support the development and implementation of transformation projects across the six Locality hubs which also provided a good foundation for the subsequent development of PCNs.
As part of its commitment to strengthening general practice and supporting the sustainable transformation of primary care, NHS England provided a fund to support the development of transformation plans. ELR CCG therefore invited applications from its six Locality groupings for joint working transformation proposals between practices.
The Federation worked with practices in each of the six Localities who decided to form informal networks, Partnership Hubs, to help address the challenges that they face and realise the potential benefits of joint working which include;
- Greater sustainability; securing the services for patients in the respective geographies
- Ability to offer a wider range of services and greater specialisation
- Sharing staff and expertise and building the MDT
- Creating attractive, flexible and diverse career, training and employment opportunities
- Standardising administration processes & streamline back office support functions
- Developing / piloting new models of care to provide closer integration between community and primary healthcare providers.
- Creating larger groups with influence in the local healthcare economy
- Creating a more secure platform to support extended primary care / in-hours access
The Federation worked with each of the Locality Partnership Hubs to develop their Transformation Fund plans and applications which were all successfully approved; securing more than £700,000 of additional funding to invest in the development of primary care in ELR.
The projects have had a range of positive benefits, including;
- Improved access for patients
- Reduced GP workload
- Wider range of services and greater specialization
- Flexible career, training and employment options
- Improved care navigation
- New merged practices – creating more sustainable primary care organisations
- Improved integration with community services
- Supporting back office functions
