Bath and North East Somerset area
This area has a resident population of 177,643. The population is generally healthy and relatively financially stable; however there are pockets of significant deprivation and health inequalities. In the B&NES area, approximately 54 per cent of practices have a smaller patient list than the average for England. There are 22 GP practices in total and six Primary Care Networks (PCNs).
Wiltshire area
There are currently 46 GP practices in Wiltshire, spread across 13 Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and 3,485 square kilometres of South West countryside. The county is characterised by high rolling downland and wide valleys so many of the GP practices also have smaller branch surgeries in the more rural villages and hamlets. These practices serve a growing population of around 490,000 which includes a large number of military personnel and their families in the areas around Salisbury Plain.
Swindon area
General practice in Swindon is of a high standard making the region a great place to work and live.
In Swindon there are 237,000 patients registered to 19 GP practices. List sizes range from 4,500 to 18,500. The practices are generally working within eight Primary Care Networks, with PCN sizes ranging from 30,000 to 62,000 population size.
Swindon is one of the fastest growing towns in the UK with several large house building projects taking place around the town over the next 20 years. There are a number of diverse cultural communities, with over 100 languages spoken locally.
Photo taken at The Porch Surgery, Corsham
Primary Care Networks
The development of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire is also well-advanced, with the main focus being on collaborative working with community health organisations and local urgent care systems, whilst building on the core values and strengths of general practice. PCNs offer a great opportunity for primary care staff to maximise the potential of wider team working and collaboration, introduce new roles and new ways of delivering services, working at scale where this makes sense.
Our 27 PCNs (6 in B&NES, 13 in Wiltshire and 8 in Swindon) are at various stages of development and maturity and will provide a solid foundation for improving the health and wellbeing of defined populations, as well as improving services offered to patients, and by clinicians and the wider primary and community care teams. To support PCNs, we are keen to provide new training and development opportunities for teams and individuals, to allow our valuable primary care staff to be well-equipped for their current roles and to enable them to thrive and develop in the future.
With the increasing pressures on primary care services, we have the opportunity to innovate and be forward thinking when planning our primary care workforce. We need enthusiastic professionals to support the people of B&NES and Wiltshire and deliver the healthcare that they need as close to home as possible.
Hospital Services
There are three acute hospitals within the area – Royal United Hospital Trust in Bath, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust and the Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust in Swindon for some services outside of general practice including:
- Accident and Emergency departments
- Maternity services
- Outpatient appointments
- Inpatient services.
There are three community services across the area provided by Virgin Care in B&NES, Wiltshire Health and Care, and Great Western Hospital in Swindon. They each provide a range of community-based services, including:
- Community Teams
- Physiotherapy
- Podiatry
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Continence services
- Diabetes care
- Dietetics
- Orthotics
- Intermediate care
- Respiratory services
- Tissue viability
- Wheelchair services
