Patient Participation Group

Parkbury House Surgery Objectives

The objectives of the Patient Participation Group (PPG) are to:

• Ensure that patients are involved in decisions about the range and quality of services provided and/or commissioned by the practice;
• Work with the practice to solicit the views of the patient community: e.g. in respect of the services being delivered/commissioned by the practice; convenience of access (hours of opening); ability to book ahead; ability to be seen quickly; continuity of care; modes of contact with the surgery (e.g. face to face, telephone, electronic etc.); range of skills available and accessibility and new services that are required by the patient community;
• It exists to put forward ideas and solutions and to seek to improve current practice 

Membership

Membership of this group is on a voluntary basis and is open to all registered patients of the Practice. It is the intent that the group is representative of the practice population.

The Practice is further supported by a virtual PPG; this is a group of registered patients who have volunteered to engage on an ad hoc basis with the surgery via email.

How We Work

• Develop a structure that gains the views of patients and enables the practice to obtain feedback from the practice population, e.g. via this group and the virtual PPG
• Agree areas of priority with the PPG
  • Patients’ priorities and issues;
  • Practice priorities and issues including themes from complaints;
  • Planned practice changes;
  • Care Quality Commission (CQC) related issues;
  • National GP patient survey issues.
• Collate patient views through the use of survey (at least once per annum);
• Provide the PPG with opportunity to discuss survey findings and reach agreement with the PPG on changes to services;
• Agree an action plan with the PPG and seek PPG agreement to implementing changes;
• Publicise actions taken and subsequent achievement by doing the following:
  • Giving a description of the profile of the members of the PPG;
  • Demonstrating the steps taken by the practice to ensure that the PPG is representative of its registered patients and where a category or 2 categories of patients is not represented, the steps the practice took in an attempt to engage that category or categories;
  • Show the steps taken to determine and reach agreement on the issues which had priority and were included in the local practice survey;
  • Publicise the manner in which the practice sought to obtain the views of its registered patients;
  • Show the steps taken by the practice to provide an opportunity for the PPG to discuss the contents of the action plan;
  • Set out details of the action plan demonstrating how the finding or proposals arising out of the local practice survey can be implemented and, if appropriate, reasons why any such findings or proposals should not be implemented;
  • Provide a summary of the evidence including any statistical evidence relating to the findings or basis of proposals arising out of the local practice survey
    and conclusions;
  • Set out the actions which the practice and, if relevant, the PCT, intend to take as a consequence of discussions with the PPG in respect of the results, findings and proposals arising out of the local practice survey. 

Meetings

The PPG will meet on a routine basis every 3 months; the frequency of meeting will be adjusted as and when necessary.

Quorum and Decision-Making

At Group meetings, a quorum will consist of 5 members, including the Chairman of the PPG, Practice Manager or a senior member of the practice as a nominated deputy. The PPG will aim wherever possible to reach decision by consensus. Where this is not possible the view held by the majority of those present will be the view that is agreed and taken forward by the group.

• New staff appointments
• Discussion of car park issues
• Website developments
• Introduction of eConsult
• Provision of ear wax removal services
• Update on ‘Green Impact Initiative’ efforts
• Social prescribing services

To be confirmed