Welcome to the December edition of PCC Insight. This edition comes at a time of significant change. We have the 10 Year Health Plan implementation gaining pace with the publication of numerous frameworks setting direction and encouraging action. At the same time, we are thinking of our colleagues and friends in integrated care boards (ICBs) and in NHS England who are considering their own futures as redundancy programmes progress.
Helen Northall
The biggest challenge for the next six months will be for ICBs to develop in their role as strategic commissioners, we are heartened to see the enthusiasm and positive feedback from our first workshops to help skill commissioners in this area. A second series have already been scheduled, however it is not just the knowledge and skills ICBs need, it’s cultural change. They will need to enable those coming together as neighbourhoods and multi-neighbourhoods space and time to develop their plans, work with communities, with other providers, including trusts, local authority and voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise sector to identify the areas to change, and, building on the strengths of communities, plan how best to deliver services. The priorities are well known, to reduce A&E attendance and reduce bed days, where it is appropriate to do so. Population health management skills in both commissioners and providers will be essential, as well as good access to the data needed to support prioritisation and decision making. ICBs will need to ensure they are commissioning value and, at the same time, taking a step back – specifying outcomes and letting providers agree how these will be delivered, shifting services closer to people’s homes here practicable.
This edition of PCC Insight considers primary care and the new landscape of neighbourhoods, multi-neighbourhood providers and integrated health organisations. We look at the planning needed for neighbourhood health centres, share resources to support community empowerment, consider the challenge to reach net zero, ponder conflicts of interest that may occur, look at the practicalities of leasehold partner changes and we share some of the questions we receive through our primary care helpdesks.
The team at PCC wish you a restful festive season. We look forward to continuing to work with you in 2026.
