What do you need to know in detail or have an awareness of in your Primary Care Network?

Disclaimer: This blog may come across as a bit harsh, but it has been written with the best of intentions because I want to help you deliver, what is a mammoth job, as efficiently as possible.

Let's jump in!

I know some Clinical Directors (CDs) who, quite frankly, micromanage EVERYTHING, even though they have a highly skilled manager in place.

These CDs make all the decisions, and if a decision does slip through the net and the manager tries to boldly take a step forward (and make even a minor decision), they are reprimanded - and sometimes this will take place publicly.

I also know managers who struggle to delegate to their administrators. If you train your administrator, they will be instrumental in lightening your workload.

When it comes to Primary Care Network management, I fundamentally believe we can't perform our roles to the best of our ability without a solid team around us. Leadership and management is a team sport, and it's where we learn to delegate, divide and conquer.

To lead and manage well, you need to:

1️⃣ Ensure there is clarity of roles and responsibilities.

2️⃣ Regularly review what is urgent, important and what can be shelved quarterly,

monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily.

3️⃣ Agree on who in your management team needs expertise in a particular area,

versus who needs oversight.

4️⃣ Provide clear direction and training when it is needed.

This takes time, training and trust.

And so, we have created a list to help you to review where you are.

The list below is by no means exhaustive, and it should be used as a prompt within a targeted management team discussion to identify who needs to know (and own) the detail for each area - and where other team members are expected to have oversight, to ensure that things are continuously moving forwards.

Use this list to highlight:

❓What are you clear on?

❓What is confusing?

❓What can you delegate or even delete?

❓What barriers are you putting in your own way when it comes to delegation?❓Where are you spending the majority of your time and is this honestly justified?

❓What would you like to lead on but are being prevented from doing so?

❓Who needs to be responsible and accountable? Versus...

❓Who needs to be consulted and informed?

My plea to CDs and managers is to clearly communicate what good looks like to your team and use the graphic above to divvy out what you simply need an overview of, and what you need to be intimately involved in.

For further thoughts on this topic, check out our youtube video here:

I hope this is helpful! 😀

Never miss a blog again

About the Author

Tara and Team THC provide project and network management and training to Primary Care Networks. Between our training programmes, facilitation and interim network programmes, we have now supported over 120 PCNs!

Tara has an MBA in Healthcare Leadership and Management, is published in the London Journal of Primary Care, is the author of over 200 blogs and also hosts The Business of Healthcare Podcast.

Find out more about THC Primary Care at www.thcprimarycare.co.uk