Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan, with general practices forming networks typically covering 30,000-50,000 patients.
Networks are intended to provide a structure and funding for services to be developed locally, in response to the needs of the patients they serve.
The Nightingale Network came together because the two main practices, Thurleigh Road and Balham Park Surgery shared a similar demographic. This meant that we had areas in common that we could work on for our populations. We had a history of mutual respect between our practices and a belief that we were likeminded in terms of our ethos and approach to patient care.
Clinical Directors Job-shared role: Dr Cath Ellis (based at Thurleigh Road) and Dr Sangeeta Patel (based at Balham Park Surgery)
Supported by Management Partners: Sandra Reeves and Natalie Whyte
Total Population Served: 33,710
| Practice Name | Patient List Size October 2021 |
| Balham Park Surgery | 19,187 |
| Thurleigh Road Practice | 14,393 |
| Nightingale Practice | 130 |
Our aim is to provide proactive, coordinated care to our local population, in targeted ways to match different people’s needs, with a strong focus on prevention and personalised care. This means supporting patients to make informed decisions about their own health and care and connecting them to a wide range of statutory and voluntary services to ensure they can access the care they need first time.
As a network we can have a greater focus on local population health and addressing health inequalities in our area.
The Nightingale Practice a unique practice in a residential and nursing home for Jewish people. It is run by Balham Park Surgery who employs GPs, a whole time equivalent Nurse Practitioner and two Administrators. Our GPs can benefit from exposure to complex elderly medicine that they might not otherwise get due to our younger population, providing opportunities to maintain and enhance their skills.
As a small Network we have been able to make decisions and implement changes quickly.
In the first year of operation we have;
- Appointed a shared pharmacist
- Appointed a shared social prescriber / link worker through Surrey Physio
- Have in house First Contact Physiotherapy (FCP) through Surrey Physio
- Implemented new websites for our practices with shared Primary Care Network pages
- Held parenting classes – courses for new parents and their babies with specialist guest speakers