Guidance for Setting up Patient Participation Groups in North East Essex

Guidance for setting up Patient Participation Groups in North East Essex

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Title / Guidance for setting up Patient Participation Groups in North East Essex
Description / The aim of this guide is to offer support and practical guidance to General Practices and Patients who are interested in setting up Patient Participation Groups
Audience / Practice Manager, Practice Staff, and Patients
Date of Issue / July 2011
Review Date / January 2012 (Annual thereafter)
Prepared by / N E Essex GPCSU and NHS North East Essex
GPCSU (01206 286713)

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Acknowledgements

This Framework document uses reference to:

·  NHS Norfolk’s guide to Setting up a Patient Participation Groups for General practice and Patients;

·  The N E Essex Public and Patient Engagement Discussion Document;

·  The Patient Participation DES;

·  Government Equalities Office guide from the Equality and Human Rights Commission website;

·  NHS North East Essex Access and Responsiveness LES;

·  Input from working session 6th July 2011 with Patient Participation Groups currently in existence in N E Essex.

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Contents

1. Introduction
2. What is a Patient Participation Group?
3. A Step by Step Guide to setting up a Patient Participation Group

Step 1: Starting up a group

Step 2: The first Meeting

Step 3: The Second meeting

Step 4: Subsequent Meetings

Step 5: Work outside the meetings

Step 6: Maintaining and developing your PPG

1. Examples of good practice
2. Useful links
3. Appendix

·  Appendix 1: Example of PPG Flyer

·  Appendix 2: Details of GPC Website and practice Micro site plans

·  Appendix 3: Confidentiality document

·  Appendix 4: Map of how PPG will fir in with GPC PPE structure;

·  Appendix 5: Example of first (Introductory) meeting agenda;

·  Appendix 6: Example of PPG Terms of Reference;

·  Appendix 7: Example of second/AGM meeting agenda;

·  Appendix 8: Example of subsequent meeting agenda;

·  Appendix 9: Suggested timetable for developing local survey;

·  Appendix 10: Example template for collating priorities for local survey

·  Appendix 11: Methodology for undertaking local survey;

·  Appendix 12: Guidance for writing local survey Questions

·  Appendix 13: Example of local survey;

·  Appendix 14: Toolkit for analysing survey results;

·  Appendix 15: Example of Local Survey report;

·  Appendix 16: PPG/PCF Membership form

·  Appendix 17: Glossary of terms

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Introduction

Public and Patient Engagement is one of the first areas that GP Commissioners wish to lead on after the government published their NHS reform in 2010.

Our Public and Patient Engagement discussion document was published at the beginning of 2011 for the public and other local organisations to comments on how they feel our Public and Patient Engagement strategy should take form. An area that received lots of interest was the need for practices in North East Essex to introduce Patient Participation Groups where they currently do not exists. We wish to also encourage a consistent approach to outcomes.

Coupled with the recently released Patient Participation DES and Access and Responsiveness LES there is now demand for a centrally produced framework that helps practices understand what they need to do to set up a PPG.

This document is for guidance only and can be changed locally if the practice deems it necessary.

The document can be used alongside the Patient Participation DES and Access and Responsiveness LES.

There are three different options practices can utilise for setting up a Patient Participation Group. They are as follows:

Resource opportunity / £ per patient
Patient Participation DES and Access and Responsiveness LES / £2.10
Patient Participation DES ONLY / £1.10
Access and Responsiveness LES ONLY / £1.00

Included in this document is:

·  What a practice needs to do to achieve outcomes under the DES;

·  What a practice needs to do to achieve outcomes under the LES;

·  How local patient involvement can fit into the wider Public and Patient Engagement structure in North East Essex;

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What is a Patient Participation Group?

With the introduction of GP Commissioning Patient Participation Groups (PPG’s) should have a much greater role to play in the future. This is particularly true where the views and experiences of people can help inform the decision making process.

What is the aim of a PPG:

·  They should help deliver real benefits and should not just be a talking shop;

·  Help to capture issues for practices to remedy;

·  Improve communication;

·  Feed into the central commissioning process;

·  Work with the practice to help design local surveys;

·  Help patients takes reasonability for their own health;

·  Where possible should be self organising;

·  Identify best practice and the positive things too;

·  Should be engage with a cross section of the whole practice population.

A PPG is not just about those people who attend meetings. It is much wider than this. A common question of “how big should a PPG be” should actually be “how many people can the practice easily engage with”. A practice’s PPG is likely to:

·  Have regular meetings with members attending (this may need to be controlled depending on available space);

·  Have people signed up taking an interest in the PPG from a distance. This means that they do not have to attend meeting but should be engaged with through newsletter, consultation documents or be involved in any other aspect of the PPG. The use of technology may help this – such as Discussion Boards on websites;

·  Have a virtual PPG. This means that the practice will deliver their “PPG” remotely.

Which ever way a practice wishes to do this these groups need to deliver outcomes in a coordinated way.

What should PPG’s not become:

·  A social event with no structure;

·  A place for complaints and “moans”;

·  Time consuming for practice managers;

·  A “Doctors fan club”;

·  Group of like minded people;

·  Talking about specific illnesses and diseases.

What is very clear from speaking with the existing PPG’s is that it takes time for them to become fully functional. Practices must not be intimidated by expecting results over night. It is natural for the group to take time to “bed in” to the practice.

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A Step by Step Guide to setting up a Patient Participation Group

Step 1 – Starting up a Group

You are first going to have to:

·  Understand the objectives of a PPG;

·  Let people know you are setting up a PPG and recruiting people to the group;

·  Consider being representative and promoting equality.

Understand what you want your PPG to achieve

As obvious as it sounds you need to think about what you want your practice to achieve or deliver. Each practice will have different needs and use their groups in different ways. We recommend that as a practice you agree a list between staff so there is a clear understanding of what you are trying to achieve.

When starting up a group a concern some smaller practices may have is where to hold the event. If space is an issue arrangements could be made with other local practices that do have adequate space or places, such as the village halls, which are accessible as the practice.

Some ideas may include:

Purpose / Detail
To help develop a local patient survey / The Patient Participation DES requires that PPG’s work the practice to agree their local patient surveys. The local patient survey will need to:
·  Issues identified and prioritise for survey;
·  Be shared with as many patients as possible;
·  The results analysed;
·  An action plan agreed with patents on how they want to respond-including timetable;
·  Publish the results of the survey.
Escalate practice issues / The PPG can help share issues with practice staff. PPG are not about single issues repeatedly coming to the meeting.
Escalate wider commissioning issues / GP Commissioning is about commissioners becoming much closer to patients. PPG’s should fit into a wider PPE structure that allows experiences, views or concerns to reach the right people at the centre. The GPCSU will support develop this process.
Work with other PPG’s across N E Essex / Do you want your PPG to link in with others? This would be a good way for best practice to be shared and ideas to be formed across a larger area
Help with fund raising / There are examples of PPG’s helping the practice with events that help with fund raising or support events (i.e. Open Days)
Improve Communication / The PPG must be a conduit for improving communication between patients, the practice and the role of GP Commissioners. The process for some of this will be in the hands of others (GPC).
Help the practice deliver change / Where changes are required in the practice, either as a result of the local survey or some other initiative, the PPG can help staff sell the idea to patients.
How much would you like the group to manage themselves / This is up to the practice to determine. As much as possible the group should function without the involvement of staff to avoid PPG’s becoming counter-productive.
Promote education and self help / If practices promote campaigns or self help initiatives the PPG could help support it and improve take up. They could also help the practice understand what areas are of particular interest for patients or link in with other organisations who need volunteers (such as bereavement services). These can be recruited from the practice population.
Become a hub for Social networking / The group could be more than something that just meets to discuss the practice. Creffield Road PPG has used their PPG to put together a “book club”.

Let people know you are setting up a PPG and recruiting people to the group

Below is a table with suggestions to promote setting up a group. There is no right or wrong way to do this and you could use a combination of the suggestions below:

Suggestion / Detail
Flyer / These can be produced fairly inexpensively and can be placed in many places. A suggested template is produced in Appendix 1. You can delete or change the image if you wish or use this as a basis for any meeting type.
Website / Using your website to announce your group may be viewed by many people. If you do not have a website the GPC are developing a new website with “micro-sites” for practices. See Appendix 2 for details.
Waiting room Electronic Message board / This will cost you nothing if you have an electronic message board already and will be accessible to all those who are waiting in your surgery.
Taking advantage of other common documents shared with patients / Along with letters, prescription slips or prescriptions could be placed either a note or a letter outlining your interest in recruiting people to the PPG. This would reach a wide audience whom you are already making contact with.
Town and Parish Newsletters / These newsletters often reach most addresses in an area. A proactive way of promoting your group to those who may not come into your surgery often.
Local business inc. Pharmacists / Asking local business or pharmacists to put up flyers to help reach new audiences who may not come in contact with your surgery. This is a good way to attract “well” patients.
Sharing the “word” / Simply having staff asking people on the front desk may encourage interest.
Open days / You may wish to have an open day which allows you to promote a PPG. These are more costly to organise than some of the other suggestions but allows you to speak directly to those who may be interested.
Handpicking members / There are good examples of practices who contact patients with a view of getting a cross section of the population. The GPCSU are happy to produce each practice a profile of their population. This will help inform what the mix of the local population. You could use this to focus in on contact different groups, sexes, and age.
Using local groups to share information / The GPCSU are looking to work with Voluntary Sector organisations as part of the wider PPE strategy. Should practices wish to use voluntary sector groups to promote a PPG we can help facilitate this on your behalf.

This list is not exhaustive and would welcome any other methods used by practices to be shared as “best practice”.

Consider being representative and promoting equality

Practices need to ensure that they comply with the Equality Act for payment under the DES – Section 1.12. When engaging it is always worth asking, “What you wish to achieve”. Otherwise you may find yourself re-doing a lot of the same work but in a different way.

Practices will need to evidence that equality of engagement has been considered throughout. There is also a duty to publish information about the engagement that has been undertaken.

PPG’s in N E Essex still admit that achieving full equity is difficult and that attracting the right people is a constant challenge.

Below are some steps that practices should take to meet this duty

Issues you may wish to consider / Suggested solutions
How can we engage with those people who are less visible to us? / Using existing forums or groups to reach representatives. The GPC are looking to build relationship with the voluntary sector to help target specific groups of individuals. Practices could take advantage of this arrangement
What if some groups of people refuse to participate and they are afraid to compromise their privacy. For example if we are reviewing a particular service they may assume we know who they are by the fact they use it. / Using groups who represent these people could act as a conduit.
What do you mean by a “silent Group” / These are groups of people who are seldom heard through out the engagement process. These may include:
·  people with mental health conditions
·  people with learning difficulties and disabilities
·  Gypsies and Travellers
·  People who are undergoing, are considering or have undergone gender reassignment