PCN Staff

The aim of the additional roles scheme is to utilise roles that are not traditionally employed in primary care to help with the workforce shortage in general practice.  Each PCN has the flexibility to determine which roles form a core list they require based on their patient population requirements.

Find out more on each of the additional roles employed in Pioneers Integrated Partnership PCN by reading the information below about each role.

Mental Health Practitioner

Mental Health Practitioners work hand in hand with the mental health community teams and meet the mental health needs of new and existing patients entering the primary care pathway via their GP Surgeries. Patients are supported through a personal assessment to develop a care plan with the Mental Health Practitioner that suits their needs which may include linking patients into additional services as required.

The Mental Health Practitioner will work with the patient, carers, clinicians and other practitioners within the mental health teams to provide advice, support and treatment where appropriate.

Website: www.nhsconfed.org/articles/understanding-role-mental-health-practitioners-primary-care

Care Coordinator

Care coordinators provide extra time, capacity, and expertise to support patients in preparing for clinical conversations or in following up discussions with primary care professionals. They work closely with the GPs and other primary care colleagues within the primary care network (PCN) to identify and manage a caseload of identified patients, making sure that appropriate support is made available to them and their carers (if appropriate), and ensuring that their changing needs are addressed. They focus on the delivery of personalised care to reflect local PCN priorities, health inequalities or at risk groups of patients. They can also support PCNs in the delivery of Enhanced Health in Care Homes.

Clinical Pharmacist

Clinical pharmacists are the experts in the use of medicines and may perform various tasks including:

• Monitoring patient progress with medications and making relevant recommendations to change
• Evaluating medication therapy and making appropriate recommendations to patients or health practitioners.
• Providing information and advice about the safe and effective use of your medicines.
• Recognizing untreated health conditions that could be managed with medicines.
• Advising patients about the best way to take medication
• Assisting in direct care of patients

Pharmacy Technician

Pharmacy technicians play an important role within general practice and complement the work of the clinical pharmacists through utilisation of their technical skillset. Working within primary care settings allows the pharmacy technician to apply their acquired pharmaceutical knowledge in tasks such as audits, discharge management, prescription issuing, and where appropriate, informing patients and other members of the primary care network (PCN) workforce. Work is often under the direction of clinical pharmacists as part of the PCN pharmacy team.

Physician Associate

Physician associates are healthcare professionals with a generalist medical education, who work alongside doctors providing medical care as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team. Physician associates are dependent practitioners who work under the supervision of a fully trained and experienced doctor. They bring new talent and add to the skill mix within teams, providing a stable, generalist section of the workforce which can help ease the workforce pressures that primary care currently faces.

Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW)

Social Prescribing Link Workers give people time and focus on what matters to the person as identified in their care and support plan. They connect people to community groups and agencies for practical and emotional support and offer a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, hence the name ‘social prescribing’.

Social prescribing enables patients referred by general practice, pharmacies, multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, allied health professionals, fire service, police, job centres, social care services, housing associations and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations get the right care for them.

Link workers typically work with people over 6-12 contacts (including phone calls and face to face meetings) over a three-month period with a typical caseload of up to 250 people, depending on the complexity of people’s needs.