Projects

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Co-designing a primary care ‘Deep End' GP network for the North East and North Cumbria

GP consultation

Jumping in at the Deep End: Co-designing a primary care ‘Deep End’ network with health care professionals working in the most socioeconomically deprived areas of the North East and North Cumbria.

Project overview

‘Deep End’ networks aim to engage general practitioners (GPs) to change the way primary care is delivered in areas of blanket socioeconomic deprivation, and to advocate for wider systemic changes in healthcare funding.

Over the past year, GPs in the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) have begun to develop a Deep End network for the region, with 34 GP practices serving the most socioeconomically deprived populations in the region invited to take part.

Researchers from the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria are involved in a Phase 1 study, which will bring together primary care professionals working in ‘Deep End’ areas of the North East and North Cumbria to co-design the onward development of a Deep End Network for the region.

A co-design approach puts primary care professionals at the centre of planning, development and implementation, helping achieve better buy-in and ensuring the initiative meets real-world needs.

The outcomes of Phase 1 will inform future phases of research that will evaluate the effectiveness of the Deep End Network for the North East and North Cumbria, in achieving its objectives. Researchers from the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria will be leading this evaluation work.

Read the full research paper from Phase 1: “A change in the narrative, a change in consensus”: the role of Deep End networks in supporting primary care practitioners serving areas of blanket socioeconomic deprivation – Critical Public Health, May 2023

Project team

Dr Sarah Sowden – Advanced Clinical Academic Fellow at Newcastle University and Consultant in Public Health at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in the North East.

Dr Claire Norman – GP Registrar and Extend Integrated Training Post Holder, Newcastle University

Project Manager – Rachel Henwood, North East Commissioning Service (NECS)

Former member of the team: Dr Jo Wildman – Research Fellow, NIHR ARC NENC (Health Inequalities and Marginalised Communities theme), Newcastle University (2018 – 2022)

The Deep End North East and North Cumbria project is supported by a number of key senior GP champions, Directors of Public Health and public health consultants.

Other partners include Health Education England and the Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria.

The North East Commissioning Service (NECS) are providing project management and analytical support.

Follow this link to visit the Deep End North East North Cumbria website.

You can download our initial report from March 2021, below.

You can also follow the work of the Deep End GP Network NENC on Twitter @deependNENC

Co-designing the Deep End North East North Cumbria: Initial report, March 2021