MINUTES OF CASTLE HEALTHCARE PPG CABINET

MAY 2 2017

PRESENT – Louise, Alan, Peter, Robert, David Donovon, David Luce, Gail, Barbara, Terry Fowler, Sue Green

APOLOGIES – Dave, Ann, Renna, Linda

IN ATTENDANCE – Dr Page (1 item), Dr Hutchinson.

1. David and Terry were welcomed. They were in attendance to see whether they wished to join the Cabinet.

2. Minutes of the last meeting agreed. Matters arising;

  • Website – location of triage flow chart now well placed.
  • Emailing Patients – no further info. Sue will follow up.
  • Virtual Group – now numbers 93. There have been more messages than usual but mostly about last week’s Forum meeting. One issue raised ; the amount of rubbish outside Embankment which seems to be left for a long time. Sue will investigate.

Some discussion ensued about whether we should be using the VG more constructively as a sounding board. Agreed to discuss further next meeting e.g. designing 5/6 questions to raise, including one re demographic make-up of group.

  • Newsletter – the key article will be on the new out of hours service. Sue will keep Linda up to date about progress. Other possible topics: putting positive comments re Practice onNHS choices; Mental Health services.
  • Patients on the autistic spectrum – Sue has just got funding from Partners Health to run 3 training events for representatives of all 12 Rushcliffe practices. They will focus on supporting patients who are visually and/or hearing impaired or have been diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum. Sue is liaising with relevant local organisations re the training to which it is expected that at least 2 people will attend from each practice, who will then cascade to their colleagues. We can then think about registering Castle as an autistic friendly practice.
  • Weekend Service – now established.
  • Self-Care Initiative –Dr Griffiths response to Barbara’s email indicated that the idea of a hub is a major initiative which is under development. Meanwhile RCCG will be running events, particularly targeted at 40-60 year olds, particularly in the villages and will want volunteer support. In West Bridgford they are instead planning to piggy-back on general events e.g. Walk in the Park.
  • Ice & Snow – agreed that presently staff share any necessary outside protection. Sue will check whether there is a written procedure.
  • Pharmacy Pilot - Dr Page wanted to clarify this item further. He confirmed the continuing problem of medicine wastage caused by pharmacies over-ordering from repeat prescriptions. This is linked to the annual reviews necessary for patients on these prescriptions. The pilot would bepart of overall plans for annual reviews etc. It will still be possible to order repeat prescriptions on line. Otherwise it will need to be done over the phone and so it is essential that clerical staff have adequate support. Initially there will be pharmacist support for them. (These will be clinical not commercial pharmacists).Dr P acknowledged that it might lead to some patients leaving the Practice but they will monitor the situation and reserve the right to halt the project if they see this happening. Similar projects have been run successfully elsewhere in the country. All items on repeat prescriptions will need to be re-ordered every 28 days in future. GPs will have some time released as a result of the scheme. We were reassured that the pilot will be well advertised including, it is hoped, on our TV screens.

3. Forum – we agreed that last week’s meeting had been very successful, demonstrating a lot of constructive attitudes. There were several apologies and Alan will follow these up. Agreed to have the next meeting while there is still enthusiasm and so we plan to hold it in place of the Cabinet meeting on July 4. Discuss details at the next meeting.

4. PPG Activities – The Practice’s new Nurse Practitioner has starting setting up displays on the wall of waiting area 1. Her team are taking turns to take this on with their chosen themes. So we requested that as a PPG we might also take turns periodically, starting with Breathe Easy Week (w.b. June 12). Sue will investigate the issue. Similarly we would like more flexibility with the information hub.

Meeting Frequency – do we still need monthly meetings? Some concern that bi-monthly meetings would make it harder to maintain group cohesion and anyone missing a meeting would find it more difficult to keep up with ever changing services. Perhaps we could compromise by holding either a Cabinet or Forum meetings each month e.g. 8/4? Agreed to discuss after the next Forum meeting.

5. CCG Feedback;

  • NUH Review – the patient with Parkinson’s disease who we referred to the relevant meeting is now on the working party. Alan will inform Linda for the Newsletter.
  • PPG networking event – changed to June 22. Four places for each PPG in first instance. Volunteers wanted.
  • Weekend Services – still can’t be fully advertised as details will change once Castle has planning permission for w.e. opening.
  • Urgent Care – 5,000 A & E contacts per month despite being one of country’s top performing CCGs. This costs £100 per head before any treatment. Respiratory visits are particularly common & we should encourage flu & pneumonia vaccinations. Also we need to push completion of antibiotic courses.
  • Barbara has sent members the link to the NHS’s five year forward plan. Chapter 6 is particularly significant. Discuss next month?
  • MCP funding secured till 2018 i.e. end of project.
  • RCCG finances are under considerable pressure. Books were balanced this year but only because reserves were used, leaving this coming year problematic. QUIPP alone has a target of £8 million savings.

6. A.O.B.;

  • DNAs – new policy of searching on system to pick up any patient who has missed 3 appointments. If there are no valid reasons e.g. hospitalisation, a supportive letter will be sent but, should such behaviour continue, a more challenging letter will follow. After a 4th DNA the patient is likely to be removed from the Practice’s list. This would be a clinical decision taking into account extenuating circumstances. The question of patients having difficulty cancelling at short notice by phone was raised. Once again this is an advantage of being on line.
  • A new Forum member raised the issue of whether phone appointments could be booked on line.

Date of next meeting – June 6 2017 at 5.45p.m.