Direct Patient Care roles under ARRS
If your PCN has residual ARRS funding, this could be used to enable one or more of your existing ARRS (Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme) roles to take on additional responsibilities whilst supporting their career development and retention. Alternatively, any remaining PCN funding could be used to support recruitment of an entirely new role (noting PCN DES restrictions), to support your PCN, practice and patient needs.
The 2024/25 PCN Network Contract DES (section 7.3.2) introduced the possibility for PCNs, under ARRS to ‘also recruit other direct patient care, non-nurse, and non-doctor Multi-Disciplinary Team (“MDT”) roles, if agreed with the commissioner’. Latest information on this can be found in the 2025/26 PCN DES (sections 7.3.2 – A to 7.3.2 – B) on the following link Network Contract DES – Contract specification 2025/26 – PCN requirements
Noting this, Gloucestershire ICB have developed a form for completion by PCNs wanting to recruit other ‘Direct Patient Care (DPC) roles under ARRS’ utilising their existing ARRS funding. The form can be accessed here.
Before completing this form, please ensure that your PCN’s proposed DPC role:
- is additional to those already working in the PCN’s practices
- is demonstrably different to other roles available for reimbursement through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme
- has a clear scope of practice and appropriate training to support its delivery
- fits with local care pathways/services and does not duplicate existing provision and
- is being reimbursed at a rate that is commensurate with its scope of practice.
Once your PCN has completed the attached DPC Request form, please return this to glicb.pcn@nhs.net and your application will be reviewed.
Pharmacy Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme
NHSE previously confirmed there is now an opportunity for using the Direct Patient Care (DPC) category to support the training and retention of pharmacy staff, as part of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) and NHSE Long Term Workforce Plan. Further details can be found on the following PDFs – FAQs & Pharmacy ARR Role Opportunities.
If you have any questions regarding these roles, please contact NHSE’s Pharmacy team on england.wtepharmacy.sw@nhs.net or for Pharmacy or general queries regarding DPC roles under ARRS, please contact the Primary Care team on glicb.pcn@nhs.net