PCNs have transformed primary care collaboration—but they’ve also introduced a major operational challenge: coordinating a single workforce across multiple practices with different priorities, rooms, systems and patient pressures.
A unified rota is the backbone of PCN efficiency. Without it, you risk double-bookings, gaps, duplicated roles, and last-minute scramble for staffing.
1. Start with a PCN-wide view of capacity and demand
Before assigning clinicians, you need a clear picture of:
- how many sessions each site needs
- when each site experiences peak demand
- shared roles (e.g., ARRS staff, duty cover, extended access)
- rooms and clinical capacity
Key insight
Most PCN rota conflicts happen because each practice plans in isolation. A centralised view fixes this instantly.
2. Map your shared workforce clearly
ARRS roles, paramedics, clinical pharmacists, MSK teams and extended access clinicians often work across multiple sites.
For each role, map:
- core site
- secondary sites
- skills and appointment types
- maximum travel expectations
- ideal recurring pattern
3. Create a predictable weekly pattern
Multi-site chaos disappears when the workforce moves in predictable, repeating weekly patterns. This also reduces stress for clinicians.
Example patterns
- Clinical Pharmacist: Mon/Tue Site A, Wed remote, Thu Site B, Fri Site A
- Paramedic: AM triage Site C (Mon–Fri), PM home visits (as required)
- GP Locum: Tue/Thu Site A long clinics, Fri Site C triage
Predictable patterns help clinicians work more confidently and reduce last-minute rota reshuffling.
4. Prevent site-to-site travel inefficiencies
One of the fastest ways PCNs lose time is through unnecessary site hopping. Reduce this by:
- assigning clinicians to longer blocks per site
- avoiding mid-day site changes
- grouping similar appointment types together
- reviewing room capacity before allocating sessions
5. Use a single system for all bookings
Multi-site rotas collapse when each practice keeps its own spreadsheets, email threads and WhatsApp boards.
A shared rota:
- removes duplicates
- prevents overbooking shared roles
- makes clinician availability visible to all
- allows cross-site managers to coordinate smoothly
Real-world impact
PCNs that switch to unified systems report 30–45% fewer rota errors within the first 3 months.
6. Build a shared pool of trusted locums
PCNs benefit enormously from a single locum pool used across all sites. Clinicians become familiar with systems and workflows, and cancellation rates drop sharply.
A strong PCN locum pool includes:
- a small number of reliable GP locums
- consistent pharmacists or paramedics
- locums assigned recurring weekly blocks
- a few flexible clinicians for relief cover
7. Use data to drive smarter allocation
Once your rota is centralised, you’ll start to see patterns:
- Which sites have highest morning demand
- Which clinicians cancel least
- Where extended access sessions are most needed
- When seasonal spikes hit hardest
Data lets you allocate clinicians based on need, not guesswork.
One of the biggest PCN wins comes from identifying which days consistently underperform—and reinforcing those clinics with better allocation.
Final thoughts
Multi-site coordination is one of the hardest jobs in primary care, but it becomes manageable (and even efficient) once everything sits on a unified rota with predictable patterns, mapped roles and shared visibility.
When the rota works, the whole PCN works: fewer gaps, fewer errors, calmer clinicians, and better patient access.
