Who are East Staffordshire Primary Care Partnership?
ESPCP is a network of 18 GP practices covering over 150,000 patients across East Staffordshire. Working collectively, at scale, to flourish and build resilience to ensure we continue to develop and deliver the best healthcare services to our local population founded on the East Staffordshire Partnership five pillars of support.
We have built an excellent relationships with local PCNs and federation and are part of the new South East of Staffordshire GP Alliance ( covering 320,000 residents) working collectively across Burton, Uttoxeter, Tamworth, Lichfield and Burntwood learning from each other, supporting where we can and doing things once where it makes sense to do so.
ESPCP has a strong governance structure with an overarching Assurance Board with membership from partners from every practice.
Together, we are working on:
- Workforce
- Information and technology
- Digital innovation
- Financial and operational infrastructure
- Education, training and development needs
- Communications and engagement
Each practice still operates independently, but by working together, it means we can do more as a Primary Care Network for the residents of East Staffordshire.
What is a Primary Care Partnership or Federation?
A GP Federation or Primary Care Partnership is a collaboration of individual GP practices working together to share resources, expertise, and staff. By joining forces, practices can deliver services that would be difficult for a single surgery to manage alone, ensuring a more resilient and comprehensive healthcare service for the local community.
GP Federations are typically structured as not-for-profit organisations, such as Community Interest Companies (CICs). They act as a vital bridge, connecting individual frontline practices with the wider NHS and social care system.
Our Key Objectives
- Delivering Care at Scale: We facilitate the delivery of services across a larger population than a single practice can manage. This includes providing extended access appointments, urgent care hubs, and specialised clinics.
- Strengthening Primary Care: We support individual practices by providing shared resources and infrastructure. This includes centralising functions such as IT support, financial management, and staff training programmes.
- Driving Integrated Care: We work closely with local NHS Trusts and social care partners to join up services across the community, ensuring patients receive better-coordinated, seamless care.
- Strategic Representation: We represent our member practices in high-level discussions with the Integrated Care System (ICS), ensuring that local primary care needs are prioritised in commissioning and funding decisions.
- Workforce Support: We lead the recruitment and management of specialist healthcare professionals particularly those funded through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) providing a robust structure for their professional development and clinical supervision.
What is a Primary Care Network?
A primary care network is a group of practices who work together to focus on local patient care. They’ve been around since 2019 and 99 per cent of practices across England now work as part of one.
With increased demand and a shortage of clinical staff, practices find they can provide greater, more personalised care for patients when they can work together on certain services or issues.
Meet your East Staffordshire Primary Care Partnership Team
We are the team who plans and coordinates across the practices to deliver the primary care network’s objectives and services.
Our Team