What is a Primary Care Network?

Primary care networks (PCNs) are groups of practices working together to build on the current primary care services whilst giving greater provision of proactive, personalised, coordinated and more integrated health and social care. Small enough to provide personal care whilst being large enough to benefit from the impact of collaboration. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly have 59 GP practices, organised into 14 primary care networks.

The Primary Care Network has GP and practice manager representatives from all of the surgeries and we are committed to achieving:

the best use of local health resources
care as close to home as possible

We provide and innovate a model of care at a regional level, using a population health needs-led approach. Our Clinical Director is Dr Kate Embling and our Strategic Manager is Mr Pete Yates.

What is our ethos?

Our vision “The Coastal GP practices will work in a sustainable way with other health and social care services, the voluntary sector, community groups and local people - to make best use of available resources to promote the right support, in the right place, at the right time - to enable people to live healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives. This will also ensure that the future of General Practice is protected and the high quality workforce engaged.”

The Coastal Primary Care Network (PCN) has just over 29,200 patients and is rural in character but flanked by the beautiful north coast of Cornwall. We are very close to the main hospital, Royal Cornwall Hospital Treliske and we have the highest numbers of over-65s population for any PCN in the county.

The practices in this PCN have commenced a programme to create stronger links between the four practices plus the wider health and social care community. The aim is to create a more sustainable and resilient PCN servicing the needs of its patients and ensuring the best possible care. The model in which we operate is around creating closer integration with community nursing teams, social prescribing and coordinated frailty management.