Welcome

As you all know, winter can be a gruelling time for primary care and I’m sure you are all feeling the effects already.

The focus of many meetings and discussions at PCB and system level are around how we can best support colleagues throughout this period.

You may be aware of the plan to introduce surge hubs in each locality to help all disciplines of primary care to provide the right care, with the right clinician, at the right time over the winter months.

These hubs are expected to be in place very soon and I’m pleased to say that your PCB has been involved in the developments on behalf of community pharmacy, dentistry, general practice and optometry.

We are also raising awareness of other pressures and challenges on behalf of all primary care by providing regular updates to the system and we continue to develop the primary care sit-rep tool which launched in September. We do this with the aim of ensuring the correct support is in place for primary care colleagues, which includes practical as well as health and wellbeing support.

In this update you’ll find more good news, namely the success of some recent PCB events – aimed at supporting colleagues in targeted areas of their work – also, the announcement of the new Pharmacy First service, and a number of campaigns aimed at helping the public to understand how primary care works and how to get the right help when needed.

I’d also like to thank everyone who has supported the PCB and its work to date, by either reading this newsletter, following us on social media, visiting our website or attending the training and events provided. We know it takes time to engage with these things, but over the past few months we’ve seen a real increase in the number of colleagues interacting with our channels.

It’s heartwarming and encouraging to know that you value what we’re trying to do!

If you have any comments or suggestions about this update, please let us know by emailing: info.gmpcb@nhs.net

Thank you,

Luvjit Kandula
Chair, Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board
Twitter: @luvjitkandula

PCB News

Pharmacy First launch

From 1 December a new Pharmacy Contraception Service and Hypertension Case-Finding Service (NHS blood pressure check) will be introduced to pharmacies. Plus, treatment for seven common conditions under the new Pharmacy First service will be launched on 31 January.

Another great PCN Development Programme event

The third event as part of the PCN Development Programme provided an opportunity for colleagues to network and learn from each other, when they met at The Studio on 2 November.

Topics included ‘enhanced access’, ‘QI for PCNs’ and ‘PCN incorporation’.

Could you benefit from clinical research?

If you attended the PCN Development Day, you may have heard the presentation by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) Greater Manchester.

They offer a range of opportunities to get involved in clinical research. Read our update or listen to their recent Primary Care Knowledge Boost podcast.

Latest podcasts

As well as the NIHR podcast mentioned above, the resource section of our website has the latest Primary Care Knowledge Boost (PCKB) podcasts available to download.

This month’s collection includes Dentistry as part of primary care and Sustainability in general practice.

Proactive Care progress

The Proactive Care Programme for PCNs is in full swing, with a series of workshops, webinars and even a visit to a GM health hub.

The programme is designed to help PCNs improve patient outcomes and ultimately reduce demand on primary and secondary care.

Training opportunities

An opportunity to gain an accredited qualification in violence prevention and reduction is available to people working in primary care settings. Dates are available in January and February 2024 with the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), commissioned by NHS England.

Get ready for GP Awards

We’d like to congratulate those who have been shortlisted for the General Practice Awards 2023 on 8 December. Good luck GM primary care!

Primary care campaigns

There are currently a number of live NHS GM campaigns which are aimed at supporting primary care. As a PCB, we are routinely consulted on campaigns and asked to provide feedback to ensure they are co-produced with a primary care focus and input.

The Get To Know Where To Go (GTKWTG) campaign is aimed at helping patients to know where to get help over the winter period. An updated version for December will be shared soon.

Phase two of the Who’s who at your GP practice campaign has just been released and features more health and care professionals from GP practices. Like phase one, the aim is to raise awareness of the new roles supported by ARRS (Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme) and highlight how they can support patients.

There is also a toolkit which features a range of mental health support, promoted via different campaigns, including SilverCloud, Kooth and Qwell for young people, and Shining a Light on Suicide.

If you can, please support by posting on your patient-facing channels.

Is your practice veteran friendly?

Remembrance Day may have passed but you can still become a veteran friendly practice. We’re aiming for at least one GP practice from every PCN to become veteran friendly to ensure your veteran patients receive the best possible healthcare for their specific needs.

Targeted health and wellbeing support

GP practices have been receiving support to meet the requirements of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) Quality Improvement (QI) workforce wellbeing module, via the PCB’s health and wellbeing programme.

If your practice would benefit from some guidance, please get in touch.

News from GM Care Record

A stakeholder brief featuring updates on the Greater Manchester Care Record has been relaunched. If you’re interested in receiving their updates directly, please subscribe to the newsletter.

Blueprint in the news

Since the GM Primary Care Blueprint was launched last month there has been some media interest from industry press. Look out for interviews with Tracey Vell, Chief Officer, Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board, and Rob Bellingham, Director of Primary Care and Strategic Commissioning, NHS GM, in Pulse and Optometry Today.

Dates for your diary…

The next Greater Manchester Medicines Optimisation Community of Practice (CoP) event takes place virtually on Thursday, 18 January 2024, from 11am to 1pm.

Check our events page for a range of webinars, conferences and training offers relevant to the primary care workforce. The calendar can be altered to view week by week, by month or in list form (agenda) according to your preference by using the tabs.

PDF version of Provider Update

Download a PDF version of issue 6 of the PCB Provider Update.

Welcome

You’ll often hear the phrase ‘hit the ground running’ when it comes to taking on a new role – and I can certainly vouch for that since taking over as chair of the PCB!

One of my first jobs in my official capacity was to attend the approval of the Greater Manchester Primary Care Blueprint at a Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership Board with Rob and Tracey, followed by a formal signing of the document along with other system leaders. The recognition of primary care as a key part of the GM system is a positive step forward for the future.

You’ll find a photograph marking the occasion on our social channels and website, along with an update about an event for all primary care providers included in this month’s bulletin. There’s a link to the article below.

One project we have all been working on is the new sitrep tool for primary care. This has been in operation for a few weeks and we’ve received useful feedback on how it’s working for you and how it can be improved. Something we’re hearing loud and clear is that there needs to be an assurance that once completed, someone will act on the information submitted.

The PCB continues to flag the challenges and system pressures on behalf of primary care providers however, we need your support to provide the data to strengthen our case. That’s why we’re asking you to complete the forms on Tableau when asked.

We’re working on ensuring information is flagged with the right people, so the most appropriate support can be put into action, so please bear with us. In the meantime, we have updated the support page on the PCB website to include direct contact details for providers to use when needed – read more in the update below.

This edition also has updates on the Primary Care Knowledge Boost podcast and a new events page on the PCB website.

If you have any comments or suggestions about this update, please let us know by emailing: info.gmpcb@nhs.net

Thank you,

Luvjit Kandula
Chair, Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board
Twitter: @luvjitkandula

PCB News

Launch of Primary Care Blueprint

The GM Primary Care Blueprint was officially signed and approved at the end of September and details of the five-year plan have been publicised by NHS GM and the PCB.

An online event to launch and discuss the blueprint with providers has been deferred until the new year, when we’ll have more detail around how the blueprint will be delivered and the support available.

Campaign resources on CPCS

A suite of campaign resources for GPs to use in promoting the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) has been added to the PCB website. You can find them on the GP Community Pharmacist Consultation Service page, under ‘useful resources’.

Third event in PCN Development Programme

A handful of places remain for the next event in our PCN Development Programme on Thursday, 2 November. Please reserve your place on Eventbrite to avoid disappointment!

Hearing from people who have first-hand experience in the many challenges faced by primary care is invaluable.

Updates to sitrep support page

Thank you for your feedback so far on the new primary care sitrep tool, launched in September on Tableau.  

We hope that you find the accompanying support page useful and, as promised, we will continuously update the information. Please revisit the page for some recently added useful contacts.

Survey to improve proxy access to children’s GP services

A quick reminder to complete the survey, which has been sent to all GP practices and PCNs, before the end of October.

Podcast reaches exciting milestone

We’re delighted to announce that the Primary Care Knowledge Boost (PCKB) podcast has reached an impressive milestone – one million downloads!

Read more on our news page and check out the latest episodes via our social media channels or on the resources section of our website.

Information to support young people experiencing self-harm

NHS Greater Manchester has produced information resources for young people and their parents and carers, which explain why people may self-harm, how to talk about it and strategies to help young people manage their emotions before they reach a crisis, while highlighting sources of help.

The resources can be shared with patients.

Young people and eating disorders – support for primary care

NHS GM has also produced a dedicated web page with guidelines for primary care professionals in supporting young people with suspected eating disorders.

It includes a video on how to make referrals and how the service is organised, plus a video case study of a young person who was successfully treated by the community eating disorder service.

There is also a leaflet containing useful signposts to support, for people concerned about someone with a suspected eating disorder.

Digital skills programme

We have partnered with the Greater Manchester Training Hub to host a series of one-hour seminars to improve the digital skills of your workforce.

The sessions run until December and cover a range of topics, including Tableau, Microsoft, and getting the most out of Docman 10. Register your interest by completing the online form.

Dates for your diary…

We’re regularly sent ‘dates for your diary’ which you may find interesting, and have been including them as part of this update, like the ones listed below.

To supply you with the events in the quickest way we can, we are launching a new ‘events page’ on the PCB website.

You’ll find a range of webinars, conferences and training offers relevant to the primary care workforce. The calendar can be altered to view week by week, by month or in list form (agenda) according to your preference by using the tabs.

Let us know what you think…

• Free study afternoon with The Cancer Forum and GatewayC (21 November)
• Greater Manchester Personalised Care Workforce Conference (22 November)
• Digital weight management refresh and update (6 November)
• Deadline for Fairer Health for All Fellowship (10 November)

PDF version of Provider Update

Download a PDF version of issue 5 of the PCB Provider Update.

Welcome

As the new chair of Greater Manchester Primary Care Board (GMPCB), I’m pleased to introduce the September edition of Provider Update.

I’d like to thank Dharmesh Patel for his leadership to date, and welcome Dr Tim Dalton as vice-chair of the PCB.

I hope you all had a good summer – or rather the one week of sunshine we managed to enjoy! I think it’s safe to say that this time of year means that, as primary care professionals, we are readying ourselves for the big push through winter.

So, it’s more important than ever that we look after our health and wellbeing and that of our workforce. In this edition, you will see some links to wellbeing resources and I would urge you to take a look and utilise them if needed. There’s even more help available on the GMPCB website.

In other news, we have made significant progress with the GM Primary Care Blueprint – so thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the draft version. We’ll be sharing the detail and how we can work together on the next steps via an online event in October. More information is in the bulletin below.

As a PCB, we bring together providers from across all disciplines of primary care (community pharmacy, dentistry, general practice and optometry), ensuring we have a unified voice and influence in the wider GM health and care system. Changes are being made to improve how everyone works together, but we will continue to represent the interests of primary care providers as we navigate through the process, as explained below.

Finally, a request to sign up to Tableau if you could – the Integrated Care System has been made aware of the ongoing challenges and pressures faced by our Primary Care teams. To help us, we would be grateful if you could complete the updated sit rep tool so GM has visibility of the pressures. This will help us to support you better in the future.

This bulletin features just a selection of recent updates. Don’t forget to regularly check our website and social channels for further information.

If you have any comments or suggestions about this update, please let us know by emailing: info.gmpcb@nhs.net

Thank you,

Luvjit Kandula
Chair, Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board
Twitter: @luvjitkandula

PCB News

Successful second event in PCN Development Programme

The second event in our PCN Development Programme welcomed more than 100 delegates to hear from ‘refreshing, inspiring and informative’ experts on a range of topics linked to the GM Primary Care Blueprint.

Keep an eye on our website for details of the next session on 2 November.

Save the date – launch of Primary Care Blueprint

The Primary Care Blueprint will be launched on Friday 20 October with an initial event via MS Teams.

Please check the GMPCB website and social channels for further updates.

Update on Provider Collaboratives

Following an independent review (by Carnall Farrar), a new operating model for the GM system has been agreed, including how it works with Provider Collaboratives.

Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board (GMPCB) is a provider collaboration, representing all primary care providers.

Wider PCB membership

Please visit the PCB website for updates to wider PCB membership, following the installation of a new chair and vice-chair in the summer.

New web page on Access

We now have a dedicated page on our website which brings together useful resources and positive case studies to help general practice improve how patients access their services, as set out in the national delivery plan and Primary Care Blueprint.

Support for sitrep tool

The new primary care sitrep support page on the PCB website is now live! Please visit this page for current offers available to primary care providers needing support when completing the new GM sitrep tool on Tableau.

Programme updates

Several new GMPCB programmes are now under way. The PCN Leadership Programme ‘Progressing PCNs’ was launched on 6 September, while the Place-based GP Board Development Programme is working with each of the 10 chairs to help their board to thrive.

The new PCN support package around Proactive Care was also launched in September. PCNs have chosen their cohorts and submitted their data ahead of a face-to-face workshop on 10 October.

More updates to follow soon.

Latest podcasts

The Primary Care Knowledge Boost (PCKB) podcasts are regularly shared via our social media channels and are hosted in the resources section of our website.

Latest ones include an insight into optometry and how it works within the primary care team, by our very own former PCB chair Dharmesh Patel.

Studies for general practice and dentistry

The Primary Care Advisory Board has updated its list of current study opportunities for primary care, including general practice and dentistry.

Looking After You – new peer wellbeing sessions

Looking After You offers free, confidential coaching and support for the primary care workforce. You can register for individual and team coaching sessions, or try their new initiative – a series of peer wellbeing sessions.

Dates are available from October for women from ethnically diverse backgrounds, men only, and an open group.

Workforce wellbeing support

In addition to the Looking After You offers, there is a range of free, confidential resources available to support you with your wellbeing, collated in this handy poster. These are open to everyone working in primary care and healthcare as a whole, so please share with your workforce.

Help for PCNs dealing with money-related health issues

NHS GM’s Person and Community Centred Approaches team and Citizen’s Advice GM are looking for PCNs to help them explore a new concept.

They’d like to consider whether a new specialist Social Prescribing Link Worker in Primary Care could help to provide financial advice, support, and navigation to patients with money-related health issues, beyond what is currently easily accessible.

PCNs interested in exploring this opportunity, or helping to further develop the idea, should contact gmhscp.pcca@nhs.net before the end of September.

Support is currently available to primary care via the Personalised Care Institute’s Money Talk Toolkit.

Personalised care and ARRS roles

Personalised Care Week takes place from 25 to 28 September and the Personalised Care Institute has free conferences, webinars, videos and activities. 

If you are unable to join any sessions, there are a number of free eLearning opportunities that are always available.

If your practice wants to learn more about the personalised care ARRS roles, this flyer explains how they work. Ongoing support is also available – get in touch with Charlotte Leonhardsen: c.leonhardsen@nhs.net

Dates for your diary…

• Fairer Health for All Fellowship Programme Lunch and Learn (2 October)
• Matching Workforce to Demand (5 October)
• Word of Hope poetry event – part of the Shining a Light on Suicide’s ‘Month of Hope’ calendar (5 October)
• Demand and Capacity webinars (dates from 11 October)
• Getting Started Series: Groups Consultations and Virtual Group Consultations (18 October)
• NW panel discussion: Menopause and our health and social care workforce (18 October)

PDF version of issue 4 of the Provider Update

Download a PDF version of issue 4 of the PCB Provider Update.

Welcome

You may have already heard via our communications channels that we have now appointed my replacement as PCB chair!  

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Luvjit Kandula to the post and I’m sure you will join me in wishing her well.  

As a result, this will be my last introduction to the newsletter but I am sure I will see you around as I continue in my substantive role as chair of the GM Optometry Provider Board (OPB) and in my work with the wider GM Integrated Care Partnership (ICP).  

We have also appointed a vice-chair of the PCB in Dr Tim Dalton, who you may know as the relatively new chair of the GM General Practice Provider Board (GPB).  

I’d like to thank everyone for their support and contributions over the past few years as we have seen the PCB form and grow to what it is today, which is a valid and significant partner in the ICP; providing a unified voice on behalf of all primary care providers in GM.  

We have included more information about these new appointments in the news item below, so please have a read.  

As you will see, the PCB is extremely busy and involved in lots of projects and programmes of work, with plenty more in the pipeline.   This update represents just a flavour of what we’re involved in or supporting, so please regularly check our website and social channels for up-to-date information.

If you have any comments or suggestions about this update, please let us know by emailing: info.gmpcb@nhs.net

Thank you,

Dharmesh Patel
Chair, Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board
Twitter: @DharmeshP108

PCB News

Changes to PCB leadership

A huge welcome to our new chair, Luvjit Kandula, and vice-chair, Dr Tim Dalton.

They will represent and support the four areas of primary care – dentistry, general practice, pharmacy and optometry – providing a unified voice within Greater Manchester. Further updates to the wider membership are to follow.

ICP joint forward plan

The Joint Forward Plan, produced by Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, is now available on the ICP website.

This is the detailed action plan to support the ICP Strategy that was agreed in March 2023.

Primary Care sit-rep support page

Watch this space for updates on the new primary care sit-rep support page on the PCB website which is currently under construction.

You may have been engaged in the development of the new situation reports being developed for ALL provider disciplines across primary care and our Business Intelligence (BI) team is working behind the scenes on getting them updated following valuable feedback.

Progressing PCNs – new PCN leadership programme

A new PCN Leadership Programme has been launched by Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board (GMPCB) in partnership with the NHS Confederation. ‘Progressing PCNs’ is scheduled to begin on Wednesday 6 September and has been specifically designed for PCN clinical directors together with PCN managers, or another senior clinical leader from the same PCN.

Proactive care – new support offer for PCNs

NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care (NHSGM) and Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board (GMPCB) will deliver an exciting new support package for 20 PCNs in Greater Manchester.

The six-month programme includes targeted support for PCNs to develop new models of proactive care with the aim of improving patient outcomes and reducing demand on primary and secondary care.

Greater Manchester Resilience Hub – new campaign

‘Putting on a brave face?’ is a new campaign aimed at health and care staff across Greater Manchester. The campaign raises awareness of the Greater Manchester Resilience Hub’s staff wellbeing service.

GM health and care champion awards

Congratulations to those primary care colleagues who were shortlisted for the GM Health and Social Care Champions Awards!

We’re delighted that Hawkley Brook Medical Practice scooped Employer of the Year on the back of the Wigan based GP practice becoming the first health and care organisation to become a member of the Good Employment Charter.

To view all winners and shortlists, visit the GM Integrated Care Partnership website.

Invitation to submit research to SAPC conference

Primary care colleagues are invited to submit research ahead of this year’s Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC) North conference in Manchester.

Examples of primary care research projects, or abstracts, should be around this year’s conference themes of partnering with local communities, improving health equity and embracing technological and societal change.

Podcasts

The latest Primary Care Knowledge Boost (PCKB) podcast features Community Pharmacy Board chair, Luvjit Kandula, talking about the pressures that community pharmacy are under and the different and emerging services they are involved in.

Also, Practice Manager Kay Keane highlights the work they do at Urban Village Medical Practice in Manchester to support their homeless patients in accessing services, in an Ockham Healthcare podcast.

Care navigation training

PCNs can still register for care navigation training. Provided by NHS England, this training is intended to support the delivery of the Primary Care Access Improvement Plan.

Studies for general practice and dentistry

The Primary Care Advisory Board is raising awareness of various study opportunities for primary care, including general practice and dentistry.  

Update on direct communications to primary care

Further to previous messages about how we are working with NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care on reviewing and streamlining communications to primary care colleagues, please read this update from Tracey Vell, Chief Officer of the PCB and Rob Bellingham, Director of Primary Care and Strategic Commissioning for NHS GM Integrated Care.  

Dates for your diary…

• Polypharmacy Action Learning Sets – for GPs passionate about stopping medicines safely:

Cohort 10 (8 November, 22 November, 6 December)

Cohort 11 (24 January, 7 February 28 February)

• Pain management techniques and the benefits of reducing harm from opioids workshop – by Health Innovation Manchester: 21 September
• Good Employment Health and Care Lunch and Learn – by the Good Employment Charter: 23 August
• Growth after grief – by Doctors in Distress: starts 5 October
• PCN Development Programme – spaces still available on some sessions: 14 September

PDF version of issue 3 of the Provider Update

Download a PDF version of issue 3 of the PCB Provider Update.

Welcome

I’d like to welcome you to the second of our regular updates and hope you enjoyed reading last month’s round-up.

Thank you to everyone who found Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board (PCB) on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Our audience is growing day by day and as I mentioned last time, we’re using our social channels and the GMPCB website as a primary source of news and updates, which we’ll follow up with this monthly overview.

As I am writing this welcome message, it means that I am still in post as PCB chair! Rest assured, we are working on the new leadership and membership and – as promised – we’ll have an update for you very soon.

You’ll all be aware that the NHS celebrated its 75^th birthday recently, and I joined our Chief Officer, Tracey Vell, in saying a big ‘thank-you’ to our NHS staff, and in particular those who work in primary care, via our social channels. I hope you were able to take a moment to reflect on all of your achievements as a primary care provider.

As ever, there are lots of things happening in the PCB, as well as the wider integrated care partnership, and we have tried to include as much as we can in this month’s update.

Just to add, at the bottom of each update we have included some quick links to key resources, including the GP Excellence programme, our health and wellbeing pages, our Twitter feed and the general GMPCB website. Just ‘Ctrl and Click’ to follow the links embedded in the coloured icons at the end.

If you have any comments or suggestions about this update, please let us know by emailing: info.gmpcb@nhs.net

Thank you,

Dharmesh Patel
Chair, Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board
Twitter: @DharmeshP108

PCB News

PCN development programme – day two

Registration for the second day of the Greater Manchester Primary Care Network (PCN) development programme is now open.

GP practices should have received an email inviting them to book a place for the next session in the programme, which takes place on Thursday 14 September.

Visit our PCN development programme page on the GMPCB website for more information and to reserve your place.

Financial health check webinars

Dates are still available for our July webinars in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

Entitled ‘Building the foundations for financial sustainability: A financial health check for General Practices’, these in-depth webinars will cover the intricacies of primary care finance governing and forecasting.

Good Employment Charter membership

Two GP practices in Wigan have become the latest health providers to join the Good Employment Charter (GEC).

Marus Bridge Medical Practice and The Shakespeare Surgery join Hawkley Brook Medical Practice, also in Wigan, in demonstrating employment excellence across seven characteristics, as defined by the GEC.

Greater Manchester Wellbeing Toolkit

The Greater Manchester Wellbeing Toolkit is now in its third year and has recently been refreshed to include new sections on burnout and stress.

Aimed at the wider health and care workforce across Greater Manchester, the toolkit can help you to create better wellbeing in the workplace.

Take an interactive quiz to check your own wellbeing or join a virtual event to understand how to use the toolkit with your team.

National support offers for primary care

NHS England also provides a range of support offers to everyone working within the NHS. These are intended to complement any local support, like the Greater Manchester Wellbeing Toolkit, and this updated toolkit by ‘Supporting our NHS people’ features specific offers for those working in primary care.

Latest PCKB podcasts

As you may be aware, our GP Excellence programme works closely with the Primary Care Knowledge Boost (PCKB) to produce topical podcasts, designed to support your work in general practice.

This latest podcast focuses on the new Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) Quality Improvement (QI) Workforce Wellbeing Module and how the PCB can support your practice.

Also, case studies from GP Dr Uma Marthi on ‘Red flags for gynaecological cancers’, can be found under the resources section of the GMPCB website.

These count towards your Continued Professional Development (CPD).

GM Health and Care Digital Transformation Strategy

The Greater Manchester Health and Care Digital Transformation Strategy was discussed at the PCB’s June meeting, with an agreement to share the document wider; with each of the four primary care boards.

The strategy is currently going through an engagement process with key stakeholders and feedback on how it impacts on primary care, should be submitted to: gmdigital@healthinnovationmanchester.com

Campaigns supporting primary care

A new campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the new roles supported through ARRS (Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme) that now form part of many general practice teams.

The ‘Who’s who at your GP practice’ campaign has been produced by NHS Greater Manchester, in partnership with GMPCB, and aims to improve understanding of these roles, highlighting the benefits to patients.

You may have also seen the summer refresh of the ‘Get to know where to go’ campaign, also produced by NHS GM.

If you have public-facing social media channels, please use these resources.

Survey on streamlining communications to primary care – deadline extended

We are working with NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care on reviewing and streamlining communications to primary care colleagues.

Please complete the survey which has been extended to Friday 14 July.

Launching soon

The PCB is involved in a number of new resources and programmes that we will be announcing very soon. Please continue to check our website and social channels for news about the new primary care sit-rep tool, a PCN leadership programme and proactive care programme.

We have commissioned Health Integration Partners (HIP) to deliver a new Locality GP Board Development Programme for each of the 10 place-based GP or Primary Care Boards and the GM GP Board. Diagnostic calls are currently underway with GP Board chairs, in order to scope out and plan bespoke training for each locality to be undertaken throughout the year.

PDF version of issue 2 of the Provider Update

Download a PDF version of issue 2 of the PCB Provider Update.

Welcome

Welcome to the first of our regular updates from Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board (PCB) – to all our primary care providers across dentistry, pharmacy, general practice and optometry.

I must begin by saying that my role as chair of the PCB is coming to an end soon and we’ll have an update on new PCB leadership and membership later in the summer.

For now, it’s business as usual and it’s been a very busy year so far! We hope that you are familiar with the work and role of the PCB, but also appreciate it can be difficult to keep up with everything in the primary care provider system and the wider integrated care system.

As a result, we have developed three clear ways of communicating the work of the PCB to you and we hope you will find them useful.

Our website is a great source of information, training offers and support and we endeavour to keep this updated regularly. I would encourage you to have a look at the handy infographic and animation, which help to explain what we do and what the PCB means to you as a provider.

As well as the website, we have a number of active social media channels – including Twitter and LinkedIn – so if you haven’t already, please give us a follow!

Finally, we have collated some of the more recent PCB activity in the following briefing which we will update and send to you each month.

I hope you enjoy reading this update and if you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by emailing: info.gmpcb@nhs.net

Thank you,

Dharmesh Patel
Chair, Greater Manchester Primary Care Provider Board
Twitter: @DharmeshP108

PCB News

Primary Care Blueprint Engagement Draft

Providers across primary care are encouraged to read and submit feedback on the Primary Care Blueprint Engagement Draft by Friday 30 June.

As well as feedback from individuals, each provider board has been asked to contribute to a PCB collective response by Wednesday 28 June so it can be collated and submitted by the deadline of Friday 30 June.

Changes in PCB membership

Plans are underway to appoint a new chair and vice-chair to the PCB.

The post-holders will represent and support the four areas of primary care – dentistry, general practice, pharmacy and optometry – providing a unified voice within Greater Manchester.

Annual review

Our annual review for 2022/23 is now available and highlights a range of PCB achievements, successes and key developments across primary care.

The document has been shared with key stakeholders.

PCN development day

The first day of the Primary Care Network (PCN) development programme got off to a flying start with a range of inspiring workshops and talks from regional experts and involving colleagues from PCNs across Greater Manchester.

Details about the next session on Thursday 14 September will be available on our website soon.

Digital First update

Since its launch in 2021, the Digital First Primary Care programme has adopted a three-phase approach: understand, reimagine and implement. The programme is currently in implementation phase and has noted some key highlights during 2022/23.

We’ll update you further in the coming weeks.

Good Employment Week

Greater Manchester’s first Good Employment Week is due to take place between 19-24 June and colleagues from all sectors across the city region are being asked to get involved by completing a survey, holding events and supporting on social media.

You can read about Hawkley Brook Medical Practice, which was the first health and care organisation to achieve member status of the Good Employment Charter in March.

Health and wellbeing

Have you checked out the latest podcasts on our health and wellbeing pages?

‘How chaplains are helping to reduce the burden in general practice’ and ‘Strength in numbers – managers working together in primary care’ are now available.

Message and survey on streamlining communications to primary care

We are working with NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care on reviewing and streamlining communications to primary care colleagues.

Please take a few minutes to read a message from Tracey Vell, Chief Officer of the PCB and Rob Bellingham, Director of Primary Care and Strategic Commissioning for NHS GM Integrated Care and complete this short survey by Friday 30 June.

PDF version of issue 1 of the Provider Update

Download a PDF version of issue 1 of the PCB Provider Update.