WHITE MEDICAL GROUP
LOCAL PATIENT PARTICIPATION REPORT – MARCH 2016
1BACKGROUND
White Medical Group originally set up a Patient Participation Group in Spring 2011.The aim was to give patients a say on the running of our surgeries and help improve the way we work.
In total 8 patients were recruitedto the group which is chaired by our Practice Manager, James Young.
2PROFILE OF OUR PPG
The Practice covers a large geographic area which is centred around Ponteland but with branch sites in Stamfordham & Wylam, as shown below.
The members were chosen to ensure that all geographic parts of the practice area were represented. We felt it was important that rural areas had a voice on the group and also that our branch sites were adequately represented. The group currently consists of 9 members (4 female and 4male patients covering an age range of 18 – 85) plus our Practice Manager.
One member of the group resigned during 2015 due to ill health and for the first time since the group was formed we managed to recruit a replacement who was at the younger end of the age spectrum.
(Appendix A : PPG Constitution)
3PPG MEETINGS
Meetings take place quarterly in Ponteland and agenda items cover all aspects of how the surgery is run. Over the past year this has included the following areas by way of example :-
-Dementia
-Friends & Family Test
-Mental Health Services
-Flu vaccinations
-Electronic Prescription Service (EPS)
-Patient Online Access
-Practice Nurse recruitment
-Vanguard project
-New Clinical Computer System
-Practice sickness & waiting times
4DETERMINING LOCAL PRIORITIES
When the PPG was established in 2011, we looked at results from previous patient surveys and held a discussion on local priorities across the practice. This resulted in a patient questionnaire being designed covering a wide range of areas. The survey was reviewed in both 2012 and 2013 which resulted in some changes being made.
Since 2014 it was felt that a new patient survey wasn’t necessary as the previous results were in line with those from the National Patient Survey. In addition the introduction of the Friends & Family Test (FFT) in December 2014 gave a voice for patients to provide direct feedback to the practice.
Local priorities were determined by examining FFT comments from patients along with the National Patient Survey results, as well as information from other sources such as complaints and discussions held by the PPG.
5PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP ACTION PLAN
The Action Plan was drawn up by the PPG at our meeting in February 2016. This included a timetable for introducing agreed changes alongside reasons for rejecting those proposals which the practice didn’t feel were viable.
(Appendix B : PPG Action Plan & Practice Responses)
6CURRENT OPENING HOURS INCLUDING EXTENDED OPENING
These are contained in Appendix E.
(Appendix C : Current Opening Hours)
APPENDIX A
PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP (PPG) CONSTITUTION
1PURPOSE OF THE PPG (AIMS & OBJECTIVES)
1.1To give patients and staff the opportunity to discuss topics of mutual interest in their Practice.
1.2To provide the means for patients to make constructive suggestions about the Practice and its services.
1.3To act as a representative group that can be called upon to influence the local provision of Health and Social Care.
1.4To involve patients from the wider Practice population.
1.5To enable the Practice to maintain and, where possible, improve the quality of services already available at the Practice and to enable the Group to support the Practice when needed.
1.6To publicise and promote the work of the Group within the Practice for the benefit of both the patients and staff.
1.7Work with other groups to exchange information, advice and knowledge, including co-operation with other voluntary bodies.
2MEMBERSHIP
2.1Membership shall be open to all registered patients who have an interest in assisting the Group to achieve its aims and objectives, and are willing to adhere to the rules of the group.
2.2Where it is considered membership would be detrimental to the aims and objectives of the Group, the Group shall have the power to suspend or terminate the membership of any member by resolution passed at a meeting. After 3 consecutive unexplained absences from meetingsthe Group shall have the right to ask that person in writing if they wish to continue with their membership to the Group.
2.3Any members of the Practice staff can join any meeting by invitation.
2.4Other interested persons may be co-opted to the PPG either generally or for a specific project from time to time by majority consent of the Practice members of the Group. Such co-opted membership shall be reviewed not less than annually or at the end of a specific project.
2.5Any member of the Group may resign his / her membership either verbally or in writing to the Practice Manager.
3GROUND RULES
3.1The Patient Participation Group is neither a complaint gatherer nor resolver – although may have a role in the outcome of a complaint where such outcome could impact on the wider patient population. Any and all complaints brought to or addressed to the PPG are to be referred to the Practice Manager.
3.2The PPG will adhere to the same standards of patient confidentiality as that which binds the Practice.
3.3Everyone attending PPG meetings has as equally valid a view as another.
3.4Discrimination in any and every form will not be tolerated.
3.5All views expressed and actions taken by the PPG can only be those representative of the PPG. The PPG cannot bind the Practice nor speak on behalf of the Practice nor represent the Practice in any way.
3.6The PPG will set its own frequency of meetings.
3.7Membership of the PPG confers no privileges not already afforded to all Practice patients and therefore neither increases nor diminishes individual’s access to Practice staff and services, including clinician appointments.
4CONSTITUTIONAL PROCEDURES
4.1The group shall consist of a Chairperson and members.Initially this role will be undertaken by the Practice Manager but this will be reviewed after 12 months.
4.2The Chairperson should subsequently be elected by the membership of the group and hold the post for two years.
4.3A Secretary should be elected by the membership and the group and hold the post for 2 years. The secretary will be responsible for producing minutes of each meeting held.
4.4The group shall consist of no more than 12 members.All areas covered by the Practice should be represented where possible including temporary / co- opted members.
4.5Where any subjectcannot be agreed by consensus each member shall have one vote andthe Chairman will hold a casting vote.
4.6A quorumfor decision making will consist of a minimum of 4 patients.
4.7The Practice may reject any recommendation made by the PPG but shall provide a competent explanation for the rejection.
4.8The group shall meetquarterly, usually in Ponteland Primary Care Centre.
APPENDIX B
PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP – ACTION PLAN 2015/16
1SERVICE LEVELS
1aAfter recent problems with sickness within WMG which has led to increased waiting times for patients to access services, the PPG is keen to see the situation return to normal.
Practice Response :
WMG is committed to provide high quality services to all our patients and it is hoped that a period of stability will allow waiting times to return to normal over the coming months.
1bWould it be possible for WMG to increase the use of telephone appointments as a way of making it easier for patients to contact a GP. The PPG feels that some things can be dealt with over the phone without the need for a face to face consultation.
Practice Response :
Although we don’t have a formal system of telephone consultations with patients, the reality is that we already deal with a lot of requests on a daily basis from patients wishing to speak a GP or Practice nurse. We have had discussions about introducing a formal system but would wish to see evidence that it would be beneficial to the practice to do so before pursuing the matter further.
2STAFFING LEVELS
2aThe PPG would like to see WMG successfully recruit a replacement GP for Dr Moor when she leaves. In addition we would ask the Practice to consider a full-time replacement to help provide extra appointments.
Practice Response :
We are currently recruiting a replacement for Dr Moor. We would love to recruit a full-time GP replacement but unfortunately the financial position of the practice makes this very difficult.
3INTERNET PRESCRIPTION ORDERING
3aThe method of ordering repeat prescriptions via the WMG website was stopped recently and replaced by Patient Access which requires a PIN number. The PPG would ask that the practice promotes the use of this system in order to help reduce pressure on reception staff. It would also make it easier for patients as they wouldn’t need to wait on the phone trying to get though.
Practice Response :
We have seen a big increase in patients requesting PIN numbers since we started using Patient Access for prescriptions. We have trained our reception staff to offer PIN numbers to patients who express any difficulty in getting through on the phone as a way of making things easier for them.
4INFECTION CONTROL
4aCurrently WMG has a bottle of alcohol gel at each site but there isn’t anything in close proximity to the check in screen at Ponteland. The PPG would ask if it was possible to have a wall mounted dispenser installed close to this screen.
Practice Response :
We are happy to look into this as the wall mounted dispensers are relatively cheap. However we will need to check with the touch screen manufacturer whether the use of alcohol gel would cause a problem with the screen.
APPENDIX C
OPENING TIMES
PONTELAND SURGERY
Reception & Dispensary Surgery Appointments
Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon
Mon8.30am – 1.30pm2.00pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am3.00pm – 5.30pm
Tues8.30am – 1.30pm2.00pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am3.00pm – 5.30pm
Wed8.30am – 1.30pm2.00pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am3.00pm – 5.30pm
Thu8.30am – 1.30pm2.00pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am3.00pm – 5.30pm
Fri8.30am – 1.30pm2.00pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am3.00pm – 5.30pm
Please Note : On some days we are closed from 1.00pm – 2.00pm for training purposes.
STAMFORDHAM SURGERY
Reception & Dispensary Surgery Appointments
Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon
Mon9.00am – 12.50pm2.30pm – 6.00pm No Surgery No Surgery
Tues8.45am – 12.50pm Closed 8.45am – 11.15am No Surgery
Wed8.45am – 12.50pm2.30pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am No Surgery
Thu9.00am – 12.50pm ClosedNo Surgery No Surgery
Fri8.45am – 12.50pm2.30pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am3.00pm – 5.30pm
WYLAM SURGERY
Reception & Dispensary Surgery Appointments
Morning Afternoon Morning Afternoon
Mon8.45am – 12.50pm Closed 8.45am – 11.15am No Surgery
Tues8.45am – 12.50pm2.30pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am3.00pm – 5.30pm (Alt)
Wed9.00am – 12.50pm Closed 9.30am – 11.30am No Surgery
Thu8.45am – 12.50pm2.30pm – 6.00pm 8.45am – 11.15am3.00pm – 5.30pm (Alt)
Fri8.45am – 12.50pm Closed 8.45am – 11.15am No Surgery
Please Note : Each appointment is for one person only.
ADDITIONAL OPENING HOURS
We also run some additional early morning surgeries at Ponteland starting at 7am. These run on 2-3 days per week and rotate between Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday mornings. All these surgeries are for routine, pre-booked appointments only as urgent medical cases will continue to be dealt with by the Out of Hours service.