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.

People from Bridgwater and the surrounding area are benefiting from a new health and wellbeing hub that has opened in the town this winter.

The exciting new development, which is located in the former Victoria Park medical centre building, provides a range of services for people of all ages, from pre-natal to end of life care.

The hub is run by Someset NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with the Bridgwater Bay Primary Care Network.

The idea of the hub is to provide equal access to health advice and support for all patients to empower them to manage their own long term conditions.

Rachel Cheetham, the Victoria Park Health and Wellbeing Hub manager, said: “We’re very excited to have opened our doors to the local community this winter.

“The main aim of the hub is to give people the confidence to look after their own health, so they are less likely to need care and treatment from their GP or hospital.

“We operate an open-door arrangement where people can drop in if they need any help with their general wellbeing, as well as offering a range of pre-booked appointments.

“Our friendly patient care coordinators welcome people into the hub and support them with their individual needs. This could include signposting them to supportive services within health, social care, or the voluntary sector.

“The full range of services available at the hub is being reviewed all the time and we want to hear feedback from those in our local community so we can truly meet peoples’ needs.

“However, we do already know that this will include community midwifery, health coaches and chronic disease reviews, alongside early emotional and mental health support for people of all ages.

“We’re also fortunate that the hub sits within the wider footprint of the Victoria Park Community Centre, Little Adventurers Nursery and JHoots Pharmacy, which opens up opportunities to work closely together.”

Michael Bainbridge, associate director of primary care at NHS Somerset, which commissions services at the hub, said: “When the Victoria Park GP practice closed, we undertook extensive public and stakeholder engagement to seek feedback and listen to local people and communities about what the potential futures options for the site could be.

“The development of a health and wellbeing hub will provide a holistic approach to addressing the health and care needs of the local community.”

The new Victoria Park Health and Wellbeing Hub is not a GP health centre and won’t provide urgent or acute care. Our advice to patients who need that level of help is that they should speak to their GP, visit their nearest minor injuries unit, or call NHS 111 if they're unsure what to do.

You can follow the Facebook page to find out more about the hub and the upcoming events that will be held there. Victoria Park Health and Wellbeing Hub | Bridgwater | Facebook

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.