A Primary Care Network (PCN) is a group of medical practices working together and with local organisations to help patients stay healthy and connected. 

For Bridgwater Bay PCN, this includes 9 GP practices who have expanded their team by working together and with community organisations. By working together we can provide extra services that help our patients stay healthy.

Bridgwater Bay PCN offers patients healthcare and wellbeing support and advice through:

• First Contact Physiotherapy to help you improve your mobility and movement because of injury, illness or disability
• Social prescribing with Village and Community Agents providing links with other organisations to support with social, emotional and practical needs
• Health and Wellbeing Coaches work with you to find motivation, take control of you own wellbeing. They will help build movement and activities into your day and help you connect with your community
• Community nursing providing complex healthcare to our communities to help you live independently
• Community mental health teams to help you manage your mental health and wellbeing
• Care Coordinators for patients living in care or nursing homes or for those newly diagnosed or undergoing cancer treatment
• Pharmacists working in the community to offer advice for self-care and to signpost you for help with improving your health
• Neighbourhood teams bringing essential health and social care providers together for people living with complex health and social care needs

We understand that some people need guidance with becoming more active, gain confidence in managing their health and maintain good mental wellbeing through social contact and support. We can help patients reduce their risk of serious health conditions by offering support and advice such as:

• Manage your weight and eat well for life
• Move more and get active
• Reduce your alcohol intake

By engaging with our patient community before they reach our waiting rooms, we are able to facilitate learning and inspire confidence to self-care.

This means that you only need to see your GP or practice team when you are unwell and self-care hasn't made you better or you need support with long-term diseases or health conditions.

One of our main aims is to encourage and engage patients with improving their health and wellbeing through local and national initiatives. These projects offer advice and practical solutions to help patients achieve their health and wellbeing goals.

We work with national programmes like National Diabetes Prevention Programme, NHS Better Health and Targeted Lung Health Care. Locally, our work includes the Complete Community Care project which encourages new and young mums to increase their activity to improve their health and wellbeing.

Our joined-up, collaborative approach to communication and data sharing means improved patient care and less chance for errors or misunderstandings when records are shared between organisations.

Our data sharing protocols include the correct level of access needed for staff to ensure security and confidentiality. Access to our EMIS and Rio EPR systems allow colleagues from across the healthcare and wellbeing sector to read and record patient information and interactions. It means that we can respond and coordinate the right care at the right time, and where needed communicate with patients, in the right way. An example of this was the Covid-19 vaccination programme where staff and clinicians worked across the PCN to deliver vaccinations.

We record actions, interventions and outcomes using a coding system, this helps us monitor, measure and evaluate patient interactions.