Primary care networks (PCNs) are struggling to recruit advanced nurse practitioners (ANPs) through the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS), a survey has suggested.
Almost one fifth (19%) of the 228 PCN representatives that responded to a survey by our sister title Pulse PCN said they were ‘unable’ to recruit an ANP.
And an additional 18% said that while that had recruited an ANP, it has been ‘difficult’ to do so.
PCNs also reported that they were having to pay greater salaries than the ARRS allowances provide for ANPs.
Some 40% of the 60 PCNs who answered this question said they were paying extra for ANP roles, with 12% recording that this was more than 20% above allowances.
The data comes after it was exclusively revealed by Nursing in Practice that GP practices and PCNs were at risk of losing ‘many’ experienced nurses because of an NHS digital badge accreditation scheme, which is a requirement under ARRS.
Research from the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) highlighted the struggles ANPs have had in obtaining the badge, with concerns raised that the scheme is ‘discriminatory’ and causing unnecessary stress among the profession.
One PCN representative answering the Pulse PCN survey said they had experienced difficulties with recruitment as ‘no one had a digital badge’.
‘It feels like unnecessary rules are applied so money cannot be spent,’ they added.
In October, it was suggested that NHS England was exploring changes to the digital badge rules for ANPs employed through the ARRS.
Another PCN respondent who had employed an enhanced nurse said they had ‘run out’ of ARRS funding and had to employ them through other funds.
Introduced in 2019, the ARRS can be used by PCNs to reimburse the salaries of some staff in general practice, including nursing associates, advanced nurse practitioners and more recently enhanced level practice nurses.
Earlier this year, NHS England confirmed the exclusion of general practice nurses from the ARRS scheme was set to be reviewed, while GPs were added.
The survey also revealed that less than half of PCNs who responded have given their ARRS staff a pay rise of at least 5.5% since April this year.
This survey was run in collaboration with our sister titles Pulse PCN, Pulse and Management in Practice and open between 19 September and 18 October 2024, collating responses using the SurveyMonkey tool. After removing duplicate entries from the same primary care network, a total of 228 PCN representatives from England responded to these questions. For the question on paying above allowances, we removed don’t knows. The survey was advertised to our readers via our website and email newsletter, with a prize draw for a £200 John Lewis voucher as an incentive to complete the survey. The survey was unweighted, and we do not claim this to be scientific – only a snapshot of the PCN population.
A version of this article was first published by our sister title Pulse PCN
