Patient Participation Group

 

About the PPG

The Aims of the Patient Participation Group

"To work with their practice to provide practical support, to help patients take more responsibility for their own health and to provide strategic input and advice. PPGs are based on cooperation between the practice staff and patients".

Purpose of a PPG

  • To give practice staff and patients the opportunity to discuss topics of mutual interest in their own practice.
  • A forum for patients and staff to improve and develop services within the practice by co-production.
  • To provide an opportunity for patients to make positive and constructive suggestions/ideas about the practice and specific medical conditions as an 'expert' or 'experienced patient'.
  • To encourage health education activities within the practice.
  • To involve further patients from the wider population.
  • To involve patient participation in future commissioning of Health Provision.

Benefits for the Patient

  • Patients will be more responsible for their own health.
  • Patients will have a better understanding and knowledge of the practice and its staff.

This allows up to date information to be given to patients and will inform what decisions can be influenced and what cannot. It will also allow the practice staff to gain an understanding from the patient’s perspective. It may also be useful for the chair to have meetings with the Practice Manager on a regular basis or attend management meetings of the practice. This ensures that two way communications are achieved.

  • Patients will have a forum to suggest positive ideas and voice concerns
  • Patients will benefit from improved communications between patients and staff

Benefits for the Practice

  • GPs and their staff will be able to plan services jointly with patients in order to increase their effectiveness.
  • They will be able to get help from patients in meeting targets and objectives.
  • They will have a forum to voice concerns, ideas and suggestions to patients.
  • They will get closer to the community for whom they care.

Being Representative

A common criticism of many PPGs is that they are not representative of the practice population. It is always going to be difficult to get a group that exactly reflects the demographics of our practice, and volunteer roles tend to attract those that have a certain level of confidence and free time, and have flexibility about working and earning money. However, a PPG is there to make sure that the patient voice is listened to and not necessarily always to be the voice itself. Therefore if you wish to volunteer please contact the Practice Manager.

Ground Rules

These are important as a point of reference for behaviour for when the group meets, and were agreed at the first couple of meetings. We agreed that the group should not be a forum for pursuing individual personal complaints or agendas, that patient confidentiality is of the utmost importance and that everyone on the PPG should be treated fairly, equally and with respect.

Communication

We aim to make the group as transparent as possible. We will publish minutes of every meeting on this website. At the members’ request their names have been removed and replaced with their initials but other than that the minutes are a true and accurate reflection of what was discussed and agreed.

We are striving to have a mix of the following people

  • Active volunteers – people with time and commitments to action decisions
  • Interested professionals – the doctors and administrative staff who work within and know the system and can be co-opted onto the group as required
  • Key supporters – people with influence within your locality, e.g. local councillors, community workers or business people who help raise the profile of the group, and improve the chances of your group finding financial or other forms of support

Terms of Reference

The Group is called the “Lakeside Surgeries Patient Participation Group  and includes patients from Lakeside, Brigstock and Forest Gate Surgeries. It is open to all adults and mature students registered at these practices.

Objectives
To promote improved communication and co-operation between patients and staff. To work with the Lakeside practice and to provide practical support To help patients be aware of, and take more responsibility for their own health via appropriate agencies. To identify and share best practice with neighbouring PPG’s To provide strategic input and advice to the practice on proposals for change.

Terms of reference
To provide a patient view on services provided by the practice by

  • giving feedback and suggestions on matters affecting patients, e.g. appointment system, telephone communication, hours, and other service issues
  • developing with the practice a means by which feedback from the patient body can be obtained, e.g. by targeted surveys
  • discussing with the practice survey findings, and reaching agreement with the practice on priorities and action plans
  • publishing actions taken and the benefits realised.
  • (using electronic means of communication where appropriate- (noting that not all patients have access to or use these)

By means of Health Education programmes, materials and means of communication to inform and encourage patients to take more responsibility for their health.

To assist the practice in assessing community needs so that appropriate and effective services can be provided.

The Clinical Commissioning Group will achieve “meaningful engagement with patients, carers and their communities”. It will create mechanisms for gaining a range of views, then acting on these. The PPG will take part as appropriate once the relevant structures have been established in order to enable and encourage proactive participation and promotion of shared decision-making with patients about their care.

The PPG will not deal with or discuss individual complaints, staff employment matters, disciplinary and internal management and financial matters and procedures, other than those in the public domain.

The Practice will provide accommodation, secretarial and administrative support and resources to enable the Group to meet its objectives.

The Lakeside PPG will aim to join the UK Umbrella body for PPGs, the National Association for Patient Participation.

Constitution and procedures
The Committee will consist of 12 members nominated by the Practice or PPG and members of the medical/management team who will be ‘ex officio’. The Secretary, provided by the Practice, will also be ex officio.

Election and retirement of Committee Members: Any patient may nominate themselves for election to the Committee as and when vacancies occur. Any member not attending three consecutive meetings will be deemed to have retired from the Committee.

The Group will normally meet six-weekly, or at frequencies to be decided in the light of changed circumstances. An Annual General Meeting will be held in November each year, at which the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson will be elected from nominations made in advance or at the meeting. Nominations must be seconded in the normal way, and must carry the permission of the person nominated. Voting will be by secret ballot and the numerical result will be announced at the meeting. If the meeting is not quorate then a postal vote will be implemented with a reasonable time frame to reply. The numerical result will be announced at the subsequent meeting. (iv) The quorum for a valid meeting shall be 7 voting members.

Minutes will be taken and resolutions recorded and circulated and resolutions recorded and kept on record by the Secretary.

Alterations to the Objectives, Terms of Reference and Constitution must be proposed in writing to the Secretary not less than 14 days before the meeting at which they are first to be considered and advertised, together with date, minutes, etc.

Meetings, Any Other Business etc: Agendas will include “Matters Arising and Actions” from previous meetings/minutes, and not AOB. Urgent matters can be raised at the discretion of the Chairman. The Practice will provide a ‘Practice Report’ at each meeting.

Members will respect the confidentiality of any information provided that is not in the public domain.

If the Committee decide at any time that on any grounds it is necessary to dissolve the Group, it shall call a special meeting. A vote will be taken on a simple majority basis.

Sign up to the PPG

If you are happy to be part of our patient participation group please complete the secure online form