The GP contract agreed by NHS England and the BMA addresses some of the criticisms that greeted the draft guidance for the network contract published in December. We asked four GPs and a pharmacist clinical director for their first impressions. What's good, what's not so good and what still needs to happen to stabilise general practice and give PCNs space to develop?

See also our summary of the main points of interest in the new contract: https://bit.ly/2SI4BZf

Does the new GP contract do enough to keep the PCN show on the road?

Commissioners have a big stake in making PCNs work - without them local primary care services are unlikely to reach their full potential and wider integrated care strategies will fail. Amanda Best, head of primary care development for the Cheshire CCGs aligned to Cheshire East ICP, talks to Julian Patterson about her role in enabling the local relationships on which PCNs will depend for their success.

The best networks start with good relationships

Stress is natural - a little of it may even be necessary to get things done, but where there are high levels of stress individuals and the organisations they work for are unable to perform at their full potential. Here Colin Murray, an executive coach who teaches people how to recognise and deal with stress at work, explains why managers who fail to tackle their own stress will never get the most from their teams.

Find out more or book a place on the next course on 16 July in Manchester: https://bit.ly/391mE3f

If you can't wait until then, contact enquiries@pcc-cic.org.uk to arrange a session at a time and place to suit you.

Healthy organisations start with stress-resistant leaders

When Nikki Kanani got the job of medical director for primary care at NHS England, her friends warned her to expect things to move slowly. For someone who liked to get things done, working for a national body could be frustrating. They needn't have worried. Dr Kanani's first 18 months have been eventful. Here she talks about her job, the growing pains of primary care networks and her pride in the cohort of clinical directors which has come forward to lead them. Nikki is not your archetypal primary care tsar. She spends a lot of time talking to her colleagues on social media and in countless WhatsApp groups. Talking and listening are not things that national bodies have always done well, but Nikki Kanani isn't letting that faze her.

We're still listening - interview with Dr Nikki Kanani

It takes work to work together. Collaboration won’t create automatic benefits – or any benefits if it gets off on the wrong foot. Working together, particularly with organisations that don’t necessarily share your agenda,  demands thought and a certain amount of preparation. So says Polly Goodwin, who argues that organisations hoping to collaborate, from PCNs to ICSs, need to start with a clear idea of where they're going, take time to establish common ground and give themselves permission to get a few things wrong along the way.

Collaboration: don’t underestimate what it takes

Dr Dave Triska, GP and PCN clinical director and the author of the Surrey Heartlands Covid-19 guidance (see below) believes the crisis will bring about a permanent and profound change in the way the NHS works. In particular, Dr Triska says, it has ended the debate about the role of IT-enabled triage systems and new ways of managing demand. It has also restored the sense of community and common purpose in primary care and the wider NHS, he argues.  

Covid-19 guidance from Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership: https://bit.ly/2vDodWU
For more locally developed Covid-19 resources: www.pcc-cic.org.uk
For help with local plans: enquiries@pcc-cic.org.uk

Covid-19: 'back to core business for the NHS'

The biggest challenge we faced in this week's podcast with Dr Sam Dawlatly was keeping the phone connection. It's probably not the toughest thing he's had to contend with in the last couple of weeks as the Covid-19 epidemic rumbles on. Sam talks about what the crisis might teach us about getting things done in general practice faster and with less interference, about potential gains and losses and the emergence of new GP leaders.

Crisis communications: looking for silver linings

Dr Mike Smith, partner at the Maltings Surgery in St Albans reflects on the strange new world of general practice, how GPs have rediscovered a sense of shared purpose and how the Covid-19 crisis has changed the way general practice works faster than a policy initiative ever could.

'It took a crisis to give us the kind of networks we wanted'

Primary care networks are expected to adopt a population health management approach to care. What does the term mean, what are the benefits and what are the challenges involved? Few people are better qualified to answer these questions than Dr Steve Laitner, a GP with a public health background who works with practices and GP networks to make population health management happen.

PCC