It has been a challenging start for Primary Care Networks (PCNs). From first settling the membership and getting the network agreement signed, to then immediately having to tackle any half day closure issues and practices who were not providing extended hours, it is fair to say the journey so far has not been easy. But where does the focus now lie for PCNs?

The risk for PCNs is that they continue to be recipients of an agenda and a timetable set by others. Now PCNs are in place, there are a plethora of organisations and individuals keen to meet them and talk about their work and their programme and how the PCN can support it. The number of meeting requests for the new PCN CDs is growing, and will doubtless accelerate once the holidays are over and September arrives.

PCNs are different from CCGs and other NHS organisations, in that they are not statutory bodies. The NHS hierarchy has no formal control over them. Born out of the GP contract, they are contractual constructs and as such are independent contractors in the same way that GP practices are. If it is not in the contract, the PCN can choose not to do it.

There is a power in this position. Clearly it is going to be in the interest of the PCN to build constructive relationships with other organisations (even if the primary motivation is to make delivering the future contractual requirements easier!), and to take actions to support the local population. But this is different to letting others set the agenda for your PCN, in terms of what it is trying to do and what it spends its time discussing and working on.

The establishment of a PCN is an exercise in change management for general practice. Changes succeed or fail depending on the extent to which the problem the change is trying to solve is clear, the extent to which those involved in the change are bought in to solving the identified problem together, and the ability to show progress over time towards solving the problem (I would strongly recommend you take half an hour to read this book if you haven’t already).

This means to be successful PCNs need to exist not because the contract mandates that they do, but as an enabler to solving the problem(s) the practices have identified. It is critical PCN practices spend time agreeing exactly how they want to maximise the benefit of the new PCN, whether that is the outcomes for the local population, the financial sustainability of the member practices, the workload of the member GP partners, or whatever the key local challenges are.

Once this is clear, setting the agenda is much more straightforward. The PCN will prioritise anything that supports delivery of its aim, and de-prioritise anything that does not. Control of the agenda comes from the PCN itself, not from outside. If progress is monitored by the use of some agreed regular measurements, this focus will remain in place as the months progress.

But without a clear purpose, PCNs run the risk that their agenda will be set by others, that they will achieve very little that makes a difference locally, and that any initial enthusiasm and support from practices will quickly wane. As the contractual requirements lessen for the remainder of the year, and as PCN development monies emerge, if you have not done so already now is the time for member practices to establish and agree what they want the PCN to achieve, and then to make sure it controls the agenda and how its precious time is used to ensuring that goal is delivered.