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/ Title of Meeting: / Patient Participation Group
Time: / 1pm
Date: / 20th December 2016
Venue: / Shakespeare Road PMS
Chair: / Diane Batham (Practice Manager)

Present:

Dr A.U.H. Goni, GP

Diane Batham, Practice Manager (Chair)

Patient: TKH, Secretary

Patient: MH

Patient: MA

Patient: IS

Patient: MSA

Apologies:

Patient: AG

Patient: JH

Patient: AQ

Patient: AR

Patient: SA

Patient: AK

Patient: SK

Patient: CM

Introduction:

Practice Manager welcomed everyone and gave an overview of the purpose of the meeting.

Objectives:

Practice Manager explained the objectives of the meeting:

  • To give feedback on the outcomes from the suggestions and plans for improvement which were taken forward from the last Patient Participation Group Meeting.
  • To discuss patient feedback from other sources received throughout the year.
  • To seek further views of patients with regard to services provided and suggestions for improvement/discuss Practice priorities and plans.
  • Agree at least three areas of priority for improvement to take forward for this coming year and how these will be implemented by the Practice.
  • Arrange another meeting sometime in March to review the priorities agreed.

Feedback from the outcomes and areas discussed at the last meeting:

  • At the last meeting we discussed and agreed three areas of priority for improvement to take forward, these areas were:

Expressed an interest in a new scheme that NHS England/CCG Medicines Management whereby the practice would employ a Community Pharmacist for a couple of sessions per week. The aim would be to help the GP workload and help to provide a backfill in the event of a shortage of GP's.

In FebruaryDr Goni sat in on part of the interviewing of the Community Pharmacists. Unfortunately he felt that there were not any suitable candidates. Dr Goni informed the group that we hope to employ a Practice Pharmacist in the New Year.

GP's would routinely inform patients of the campaign "No antibiotic prescription needed" by actively giving patients an information leaflet to try help promote awareness that antibiotics are not needed for various ailments.

All of the GP's have been handing leaflets to patients on an on-going basis to help raise awareness, explaining at the same time. Posters have been placed in the waiting area. This has been working well we have found that patients understand more about the need not to be given antibiotics.

The practice has been performing well. We have a legal obligation to obtain leaflets in different languages. The Group felt that as the current GP’s are bi-lingual we should have plans and resources put into the practice for the future for when the GP’s retire.

The Pharmacy First scheme. We agreed to continue to promote this scheme as we feel that we still have a long way to go to try and change people's expectations. As suggested by the group the practice put some information onto the jayex board and also on the notice boards in the waiting room. MA (patient representative) will continue to promote this service within the Mosques, but this will take time before we actually see any results. The GP's will continue to give out the Pharmacy First leaflets to try and educate them into attending the Pharmacy instead of the Practice in order to try and alleviate pressure with unnecessary appointments with the GP's .

GP's have been giving out Pharmacy First leaflets to try and engage patients to attend the pharmacy for trivial problems. Our receptionists also try to signpost patients to use the Pharmacy. When patients ring for an appointment, they always ask them what their problem is (if they are willing to divulge) and if their problem can be dealt with by the Pharmacist they will ask them to attend their local Pharmacy First Chemist -On-going.

It was reported by on Group member that some Pharmacists are not co-operating and they are charging a fee.

Patient feedback from various sources received over the past year:

  • Friends and Family Testing - The FFT is undertaken one day per month where patients who attend the surgery are given a questionnaire to complete. The FFT questionnaires are also available at reception for patients to complete at any time. The results have been really positive. The latest results are always displayed via a poster in the waiting room for patient information.
  • No comments have been received from Healthwatch
  • Three comments from Compliments and Suggestions Form

Positive – Dr Goni – Very pleased with the service and treatment received.

Positive – Practice Nurse’s & Receptionists provide a very professional service. Treat you with respect and accommodate the patient’s needs within their limits, sometimes under difficult circumstances.

Positive – Dr Goni & Secretary – Very good communication and service.

General information about what is happening in the practice:

  • CQC Visit – (Care Quality Commissioning) – the practice had a visit from CQC on 25th October 2016 – Awaiting their report – Once received the practice will put a copy in the waiting room and also on the practice website.
  • The practice telephone system is being upgraded sometime in January 2017, adding a queuing system with position in queue announcements, auto attendant and voicemail. Hopefully, this will help patients when contacting the surgery.
  • MJoG – New way of sending SMS/MMS messages to patients with the facility of patients being able to reply back to the surgery e.g. to inform the practice that they will be attending their appointment or if they wish to cancel their appointment, the system is set up to automatically remove their name from the appointment list therefore the slot can be offered to someone else who requires an appointment.

Action Plan – Patient and Practice Priorities:

  • Agreed priorities for this year, please see below:-
  • Online Services – We would like to try to promote and engage patients into registering for online services. Patients would be able to book appointments online, order repeat prescriptions and can also request access to their detailed coded record. At present we only have 0.1% of patients accessing the online service and we have to reach at least 10% before the end of March 2016. We have posters in the waiting area, information on our website, information running on the jayex board and we have also put information onto the prescription counterfoil. All new registrations are given an online registration form to complete but we do not seem to be progressing any further. Any suggestions?

The group suggested using MJoG to send SMS messages to all patients aged 18+ inviting them to register for online services.

  • EPS – Electronic Prescribing Service – The practice would like to go live with EPS by 1st April 2017. EPS reduces the paper administration associated with current prescribing and dispensing processes by enabling prescriptions to be generated, transmitted and received electronically. Only prescriptions that are being sent to a nominated dispensing contractor from a GP practice can be signed and sent electronically so hand signed prescriptions will continue to be used for all other prescriptions. It will mean that patients will have to request their repeat prescriptions themselves from the practice. Pharmacists will not be able to request repeat medication on behalf of the patients. This will reduce wastage of medications.

Medicines Waste Campaign – NHS Rotherham CCG has launched this campaign. Patients reported that they have built up, large stock of unused medicines that they did not request from the Pharmacist, resulting in waste. These medicines cannot be stored safely and used within the expiry date causing a serious safety concern. Medicines waste costs NHS Rotherham an estimated £1.5 million every year. Reducing medicines waste allows monies to fund other local services to improve the health of the people of Rotherham. Eleven practices have already implemented this within their practice and we would like to also implement this campaign which will tie in with the EPS. Pharmacists will not be able to order medication on behalf of patients, patients will have to order their medication themselves which will result in patients only receiving their medication which they require, resulting in no wastage of medications. It is safer and more efficient. CCG will provide patient leaflets explaining the changes to ordering repeat prescriptions and they will also liaise with the Community Pharmacists informing them that our practice will be taking part in this campaign. What do you think?

The group asked “what happens if a patient requested medication for a family member when they are not present”. The same applies to Dementia patients and carers requesting scripts - DB to speak with Rav (CCG Pharmacist Advisor)

AOB

MH informed the group that he is involved in doing some work relating to Hate Crime on Muslims. MH would like to work with Rotherham CCG to promote referral onto their organisation.

Dr Goni advised MH:-

Need to develop a pathway

Send out a flyer to all practices and the CCG

Request a slot at a PLT event when all GP’s present to promote the service. Need a good narrator who can answer questions

Summarise

  • Practice Manager will type up the minutes of this meeting and circulate to everyone in the next couple of weeks and then be in touch again around March time to review the 3 priorities agreed.
  • Practice Manager thanked everyone for attending.