PCN managers can be annoying.  As if the practice does not already have enough to do, without the PCN manager constantly ringing up or emailing and asking where the practice is up to with this or making sure the practice does the other by the end of the day.  So where does the real value of a PCN manager lie?

Of course the question is really whether it is the PCN itself that is annoying rather than the PCN manager per se.  Is it really the PCN manager’s fault that the IIF has 1,153(!) points available?  Someone has to monitor it.  And if the PCN agrees to a project or way of working, someone has to be in contact with the practices to make sure that everything that is needed is getting done.

It does, however, beg the question of what we really want from our PCN managers.  Is the job of the PCN manager to be the administrator constantly badgering practices to make sure they are doing what they said they would do?  Or if a practice says it is going to do something is it their own responsibility to make sure it is done, and should the focus of the PCN manager lie elsewhere?

The scale and opportunity of PCNs means that they are now at the point where the PCN manager needs to be something more than glorified admin.  They need to be the ones providing strategic leadership support to the Clinical Director and the PCN.

What does that actually mean?  It means that the role of the manager should be supporting the PCN to ensure that it has a clear vision, and that it has a plan in place to deliver that vision.  It means building relationships within and outside of the PCN to enable that plan to be delivered.  It means finding and securing new opportunities for funding and support to help move the PCN forward.

In too many PCNs all of this responsibility falls on the PCN Clinical Director, who has a myriad of PCN things to attend to in very few sessions each week.  Strategy, strategic planning, relationship building and external opportunities are often the first things to go when there are operational and staff issues that need sorting.

The PCN manager is the key.  They are the ones with the capacity to keep the focus on the important as well as ensuring the urgent is dealt with.  The ability of the PCN to establish and maintain its strategic direction is in a large part down to the PCN manager.  The Clinical Director needs their PCN manager to be working with them to keep the PCN on track.

The problem is that many places do not recognise that this is what is needed of the PCN manager.  Instead they actively seek someone to monitor the IIF targets and PCN DES delivery.  They look for someone junior who can “do the doing”, and do not value the strategic and relationship building skills that are actually the ones that have become the most important.

Equally, many PCNs are not prepared to pay for these skills. The reality is that a manager with these skills will be more senior and have more experience.  They may even earn more than the practice managers (which can be a problem in itself).

PCNs are at a critical point.  The resources and opportunity of PCNs have become really significant, but so have the operational and delivery requirements.  One of the keys to making sure that PCNs add value rather than becoming a drain on resources is finding the right PCN manager with the right skills to ensure the full potential of the PCN is realised.