Primary care services provide the first point of contact in the healthcare system, acting as the ‘front door’ of the NHS. Primary care includes general practice, community pharmacy, dentistry, and optometry (eye health) services.

Primary care professionals, such as GPs, practice nurses or pharmacists, help take care of the basics of care, focusing on preventing illness, making diagnoses and treating conditions that don’t need hospital care.

At this time of year seasonal flu vaccination remains a critically important public health intervention. Find out more about the Greater Manchester Flu vaccination programme 2023/24 and watch recordings from the GM flu vaccination update training webinar which took place on 12th September 2023.

Accessible

The aim of primary care is to provide an easy, accessible route to care. Primary care professionals help treat common minor illness and long term conditions. They also help to prevent future ill-health through advice, immunisation and screening programmes. Family planning and sexual health services are also part of primary care, and don’t need a GP referral.

Integrated

As we have built our devolved health and social care system in Greater Manchester, the critical role of primary care has been emphasised throughout. This has been further underlined as the 10 areas of Greater Manchester have developed their locality plans. Primary Care is now increasingly viewed as a core component of an integrated, community based, care system rather than a separate stand-alone entity.

Transforming

The NHS Long Term Plan is transforming primary care services by giving people more timely access to more services close to where they live by funding bigger, more widely skilled teams so people will can more easily connect with the right person for their needs. Read more about what the NHS Long Term Plan says about primary care in more detail.

Primary Care Networks

Since 1 July 2019 most GP practices in England have come together in around 1,300 geographical Primary Care Networks (PCNs) covering populations of approximately 30-50,000 patients. PCNs aim to alleviate workload and allow GPs and primary care practitioners to deliver a new model of care for their patients and communities.

PCNs involve general practices working together and with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital and voluntary services in their local areas. PCNs are expected to provide a wider range of primary care services to patients, involving a wider set of staff roles than might be feasible in individual practices, for example, first contact physiotherapy, extended access and social prescribing.

Further information:

Workforce

We have four big priorities in our workforce plan: helping our leaders, carers and volunteers to develop; supporting our staff, apprentices and people on placements; improving our offer of employment; and filling difficult roles. Read more

Careers platform

 

We’ve developed the Greater Manchester Primary Care Careers platform to promote a sustainable and thriving primary care workforce across Greater Manchester.

Coronavirus information

NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care have published information about useful resources related to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in primary care settings across Greater Manchester.

Find information and guidance at https://gmprimarycare.org.uk/screening-and-immunisation/coronavirus

Seasonal Influenza

Greater Manchester Immunisation and Vaccination Passport logo

Join the workforce to support the GM Flu Vaccination Programme for 2023/24 at https://gmprimarycare.org.uk/screening-and-immunisation/flu

Screening and immunisation

Screening and immunisation are essential population health activities that save hundreds of lives and improve outcomes for thousands of Greater Manchester residents each year.

Find information and guidance at https://gmprimarycare.org.uk/screening-and-immunisation