Dr Ollie Hart on being a PCN Clinical Director, the importance of patient activation and why coaching is so important in healthcare

Dr Ollie Hart is a GP partner, Primary Care Network (PCN) Clinical Director and also owns Peak Health Coaching. Ollie Practises in Sheffield and I met him recently for the first time at a meeting in London. We got talking and went for a coffee after the meeting. Unfortunately, we ran out of time as I had to catch a flight but we agreed to chat again soon. He didn’t bargain that said chat would be on the PIP podcast but here we are.

Ollie describes himself as a ‘typical GP who spins a few plates’. He is a PCN Clinical Director in Sheffield, has experience of commissioning for the NHS, still practises as a GP and also finds time to run his own health coaching company called Peak Health Coaching.

Ollie talks passionately about chronic pain and his desire to inform and coach these people. “The more people are engaged with their own health the better their outcomes will be. People have so much thrown at them in life so how we deal with adversity is crucial. I’ve been very involved with patient activation and care planning as part of my commissioning role in Sheffield.

“Good skills are missing to help people take much more of a partnership. It’s not easy. This is how Peak Health Coaching evolved.  Dr Tim Williams and I founded the business then and we have had good success so far.”

The conversation flowed from here. Below are some questions I asked Ollie. Tune in to the podcast to hear his fascinating approach to coaching.

Do you think your interest in chronic pain was the trigger to start a business?

Do you think pharmacists and GP’s over-prescribe medication in the chronic pain space?

What does a typical interaction look like?

Is this a move away from the paternalistic model of healthcare?

PCNs are the promised land. What do you think PCNs are a reinvention of?

What does the role of PCN Clinical Director actually involve?

One of the consequences of the development of PCNs has been a rush for pharmacists to work in general practice. Are pharmacists welcome guests in general practice or is it their home?

What are your thoughts on the workforce pressures that the inception of PCNs has driven?

What’s next for you?

What is your advice for pharmacists or doctors joining the register?

Ollie runs Peak Health Coaching in partnership with Dr Tim Williams. You can find out more about their business by clicking here. They also produced a really fun video to explain what they do. We have included the video below.

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