Patient Participation Group

GP surgeries have a responsibility to involve patients in relevant issues relating to the practice and to respond appropriately to patients’ views and experiences.

GP practices also have a duty to engage with their patients in order to enable the Governing Body of the ICB to make commissioning decisions that reflect the needs, priorities and aspirations of the local population.

Patient Participation Group Update

Following the major disruption to the operation of the Surgery and Patient Participation Group it was thought that we may try to get back to some sort of normality. With that in mind we would like to kick start the Patient Participation Group into action.

A meeting was convened between the Patient Participation Group (BG, AH) and the practice manager (BM) to discuss the way forward with regard to the interaction of the Patient Participation Group and the practice.

The following was agreed.

The Patient Participation Group shall provide a sounding board for suggestions and ideas for improvement for the practice. A suggestions box will be introduced in the waiting room.
The Patient Participation Group will discuss areas of concern raised by patients but shall not discuss individual cases.
The Patient Participation Group will discuss communication issues and agree strategies and actions to progress through regular newsletters, (hard copy and digital), Facebook, the web site and where viable via email
Attendance at the regional Patient Participation Group Network Meetings by a member of the practice and/or Patient Participation Group, shall be provided and feedback discussed. The practice will support these meetings were appropriate.
General support to the Patient Participation Group shall be provided by the practice including arranging meeting rooms and dates as well as photocopying within reason.
The Chairman shall provide the agenda for Patient Participation Group meetings.

Latest PPG Minutes

Date: 16th July 2025
Participants: Ann Higginson (Chair), Sue Harper (Action Log/Notes), Alex Newton, Jill H-S-Braund, Josie Varney, Anne Waters, Sandra Taylor, Allen McCall, Maureen Hall, Christian Draper(Staff) Bev McDonald,(Staff) Dr Butler-Reid (Staff)
Apologies: Aileen Ames, Sue Davidson, Jennifer Woods, Kurtis Reid, David Prest, Brian Gill

Welcome. Apologies. Register

Ann Welcomed everyone to the meeting.

PPG Business Matters:

Review and agree Minutes of previous meeting – All – the minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and accepted. AP1 (16/07/25) Ann to amend previous minutes to include names of members who volunteered for Listening Table. AP2 (16/07/25) Ann to draft a list of Acronyms for member use. It was noted that Minutes from previous AMC PPG meetings need to be put up on the Practice Website. AP3 16/07/25 Ann to speak with Kurtis regarding adding most recent minutes to the website.

Review and update Action Point Log – Sue H. The updated Action Point Log will be circulated alongside the notes from the meeting. With regard to AP1 13/11/24 regarding annual blood tests, Allen M at this point raised various concerns around the running of the PPG. There was extended discussion around this. AP4 16/07/25 Allen M to put forward a proposal about possible improvements to the running of the PPG.

Regarding AP4 14/05/25 Ann mentioned that the Listening Group was cancelled due to PPG members lack of knowledge around the subject. She advised she has spoken to Debbie at the PCN who had offered training. AP5 16/07/25 Debbie in PCN to provide training to PPG (date to be agreed).

Ann suggested rearranging the date of the next Listening Table Event in September as the date was in the same week as the bi-monthly PPG meeting. This was agreed by the group. Ann to check when Debbie is available for training. AP6 16/07/25 Alex to set up Whatapp group for listening group. Alternative arrangements will be made for those without Whatsapp.

Update from Listening Table sub event

This is covered above.

Patchs update – Kurtis – this is carried over to next meeting.

Lead in times for ordering repeat prescriptions – Sandra T provided a comprehensive update. She had written to Cohens who had provided a good response providing assurances that issues had been addressed. Full detail is recorded on the Action Point Log (AP6 14/05/25) Christian to use Sandra’s “good news” story in the Practice Newsletter.

Local Enhanced Services / Contracts:

Ann advised LES causing issues – Ann advised she had attended a number of meetings on these issues.
Dr Butler-Reid stated that there are significant cost issues involved with the LES. Also, despite increased payments per patient, the increases in National Insurance have not been offset, and other additional costs remain uncovered, necessitating savings. Currently, costs for ECGs, wound care, and blood tests are not funded. There are still unfunded services and existing gaps in coverage. The Integrated Care Board (ICB) has ensured that contracts are consistent across all GP practices to provide the same offerings to all patients.

Dr Butler-Reid has been heavily involved with the ICB, which, along with local hospitals and the LMC. The ICB is currently in special measures.
Ansdell MC has signed all contracts except for wound care, which will remain unchanged since clinics currently cover these services. The practice has also signed up for additional services that benefit patients, and enhanced health checks are now available.

Dr Butler-Reid commended the staff for their hard work in implementing changes under challenging circumstances. Ann H mentioned that she had spoken with David Rogers, who indicated he would seek assistance in improving the understanding of the issues. He said he would contact Dan Clough; however, Ann received an email from Dan stating he was unsure there was a problem, as practices are being compensated for conducting blood tests and there are no issues. Dr Butler-Reid will investigate this further.
There are exceptions regarding secondary blood tests. Hospitals should inform patients about how to obtain their blood work, and the ICB is assisting with this process. The ICB has established a task group to address the issue of secondary blood tests. Dr Butler-Reid noted that the ICB has faced a 50% reduction in funding and is operating at a significant deficit, leading to requests for savings.

Due to the meeting over running there was no time for AOB.

Date of next meeting:

Wednesday 17/09/25 at 5pm.

Terms of Reference

Aims of the Patient Participation Group

The aims of the Patient Participation Group are to represent the patients of the Ansdell Medical Centre by working in conjunction with the GP Partnership and practice staff, to improve services to patients.

Who are the Patient Participation Group?

The Patient Participation Group comprises both patients and practice staff, and meets at least bi-monthly. The role is unpaid and on a voluntary basis. There is no specific duration or contract.

It is involved in discussing with the practice what priorities it should set, undertaking surveys of patient opinion, and generally improving the experience at the Surgery.

The Patient Participation Group is open to all patients who are over 16 years old and are registered at the practice.

Objectives of the Patient Participation Group

Act as an advisory group providing perspectives and concerns from patients that can influence how services operate, how accessible they are, and how suitable they are for the patients.
To monitor complaints, concerns and compliments received about the practice
Review and, where appropriate, provide advice and recommendations on any surveys or patient consultations agreed with the Practice
To act as a consultative group for any changes proposed within the practice
To advise the practice on how to improve communications with patients in the most beneficial ways
To provide a forum for patients where they will have the opportunity to collaborate with the practice and provide a patient perspective;
To promote the wellbeing of patients and support the practice to provide a high quality of care and service delivery; and
To enable, where appropriate, patients to influence local healthcare services by providing a mechanism for the input of information relating to health commissioning priorities.
Facilitate debate among local residents and workers concerning health needs, health priorities and current service provision.

Membership of the Patient Participation Group

The membership of the Patient Participation Group, where possible, will include:

Patient representatives
GP partner
Practice manager and/or a representative from the practice team
Other members of the practice staff and third parties may also be invited to attend meetings as and when appropriate

The Patient Participation Group is open to all patients who are over 16 years old and are registered at the practice

Patient members do not need to represent other interest groups but efforts will be made to ensure the group is representative of the patient population in terms of age, sex, ethnic minority etc

Patient Participation Group Members should endeavour to attend all meetings

If a member is unable to attend a meeting they should offer their apologies ahead of the meeting. Non-attendance of three consecutive meetings may result in a request for resignation.

If a group member is disruptive or uncooperative they will be asked to resign by the chairperson or vice chairperson.

A Chair and Vice Chair will be elected from the group every twelve months

One third of the membership – or a minimum of 4 people – shall form a quorum at meetings

Dependencies

To enable the Patient Participation Group to meet these objectives it will be necessary for the Practice to;

Provide the necessary information on complaints, concerns, compliments, surveys and proposed changes
(This information should be provided at least one week in advance of the Patient Participation Group meeting to enable the group to act accordingly)
Provide a suitable room for meetings
Provide the facility to print/ photocopy materials for meetings
Take forward issues and recommendations from the Patient Participation Group and supply the responses as a result
Keep the Patient Participation Group informed of service developments
Provide administrative support, as needed and by agreement, to the Chair/Vice Chair

Meetings

Meetings will be held at least bi-monthly on a Wednesday afternoon 5pm to 6:30pm

Meetings will have an agenda and minutes. Dates and minutes of meetings will be publicised on the practice website and in the practice waiting areas.

Any member of the group who is unable to attend should send apologies to the Chair/Vice Chair prior to the meeting.

The GP attending will, where practicable, present news of developments within the practice, ask for support with initiatives, and any address issues raised by the Patient Participation Group.

Minutes of the meeting will be distributed within 10 working days of the meeting.