Let’s start with the good news. Despite everything you hear, primary care isn’t in decline. It is busy, yes, and stretched, certainly, but it is also full of ambition and creativity. Across the country, practices and PCNs are adapting, testing new ways of working, and shaping what better looks like. And strangely enough, the pressures we feel most acutely are actually signs that primary care is becoming more central, not less.  

Take the feeling of being left out of neighbourhood conversations. In reality, systems know that neighbourhood models simply don’t work without strong GP leadership. When primary care steps in early with data and clarity, it sets the direction rather than following it. Or when things seem to ‘happen to us’. That is gradually shifting. More system partners recognise that solutions land better, and stick longer, when primary care co-designs them.  

The CQC spotlight is getting brighter, but the new framework is helping many practices tighten their governance, simplify processes, and reduce organisational risk.  

GP leadership is becoming essential to almost every ICS ambition. The opportunity is stepping forward early enough to shape direction. The landscape isn’t bleak. It is alive with possibility. When primary care has the right support, the right data, and the right relationships, it can shape the environment around it rather than being shaped by it.  

To find out more, or to discuss how At Scale can support you or your organisation, visit our website www.atscale.co.uk, book a discussion with our team CLICK HERE or email our team on info@atscale.co.uk