PCNs urged to prepare for extended access changes

It’s been a while since NHSE announced that the process of delivering Extended Access services would be changing.

Historically, funding was handed to GP Federations for them to deliver these services. However, alongside a host of changes, the news that PCNs would be in receipt of this funding from October 2022 means that many have less than six months to prepare for managing these services.

In this post we’ll quickly run through what Extended Access services are, the challenges PCNs will face and a couple of solutions to ensure they are set for the 1 October 2022 deadline.

WHAT DOES EXTENDED ACCESS MEAN?

GPs will need to offer pre-bookable and same day appointments in the evenings (after 6:30PM) and at the weekend. This also includes at peak times of demand including bank holidays, Christmas, Easter, and New Year.

THE CHALLENGE

Extended Access services often lean heavily on GPs and ANPs to work shifts in addition to their regular contracted hours. This is usually as extra income whilst engaging in a self-employed capacity.

Without an organised system in place, it’ll be almost impossible to gather availability, calculate staff payments and communicate with both employed and self-employed teams.

THE SOLUTIONS

Some PCNs will pass this funding for Extended Access services directly to GP Federations. After all, they’ve been delivering these services for years and plenty have the technology in place to be able to mitigate the challenges we just mentioned. Rotify is already helping GP Federations throughout the country to manage their staff more effectively, and we’ll continue to do so for many post-October.

Other PCNs will see this as an opportunity to manage operations themselves. For these, it’s really-important that the funds are spend on systems which ensure delivery of quality services and not wasted on poor processes, spreadsheets and administration.

NEXT STEPS

We appreciate there’s a lot to take on, but time is of the essence, and you’ll need to make an informed decision on how to best manage operations. Furthermore, NHSE have urged PCNs to get everything in order long before the hard deadline to ensure smooth transition.

If you’d like to find out more about the changes and how Rotify technology can help your PCN navigate the workforce challenges associated with providing Extended Access services, register for our webinar on 23 September 2022 (12:30 – 13:00).