Patient Participation Group

The Aims of the Patient Participation Group

The Patient Participation Group (PPG) was first formed at Cambridge Avenue Medical Centre in 2001 as an 'ad hoc' group, mainly due to the hard work of the late Sheila Heseltine and other willing patients registered at the Practice. At this time the main objectives of the group were defined as:-

To raise funds (mainly by raffles) to help provide medical equipment and support services that the Practice would not normally have available.
To provide a link and interface between staff at the practice, both Medical and Admin, and the patients registered at the Practice.
Finally to help the Practice to improve the comfort and service it offers to the patients.

In the early days Jenny Lynaugh did much of the hard work in organising the raffles to raise money for the Practice. She was also instrumental in obtaining grants for equipment for the Practice from the Co-operative Society. Over the years the PPG has contributed to the purchase of several items which have greatly enhanced the services provided to patients such as two defibrillators, a doppler machine, and a portable hearing loop, along with a contribution of £4000 for the automatic doors which were installed in 2010 and many other items which are all of benefit to patients. In addition to this Jenny and her husband provide and maintain the beautiful flower displays around the surgery, and they continue to do so to this day.

However on 1 April 2015 it became a contractual requirement of all GP Practices to form a PPG, and this has had the effect of causing PPGs to become a more 'formal' body in that there are certain expectations of them today, which are:

To assist in obtaining views of the patients about the services provided to them via surveys from time to time.
Members of the PPG should, whenever possible, be representational of all patients registered at the Practice.
The PPG to form its own Constitution which lays down rules concerning membership, working practice and objectives, and should determine the number of meetings per annum, and who should attend such meetings
Review patient feedback with staff and agree improvements, and identify prioities to be made in an effort to better the services provided at the Practice – culminating in an agreed action plan. The PPG should then be kept up to date on the progress of these issues.

In short the main aim of the PPG is to be a “Critical Friend” to the Practice to ensure that the best service possible is provided to patients in both terms of medical care and their general comfort and wellbeing. The PPG acts as the 'voice' of patients and carers to ensure that they are involved in the decisions about the shape range and quality of services delivered at our surgeries. They are the interface between staff and patients.

Chairman's Annual Report April 2022

CAMBRIDGE AVENUE MEDICAL CENTRE – PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP (PPG)

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT – APRIL 2022

Well another year has passed by and we have all continued to deal with the challenges of the Covid pandemic. I am pleased to say that despite restrictions, the Patient Participation Group has continued to meet quarterly with virtual meetings being held to facilitate this.

I wish to thank all PPG members for their regular participation and to the Practice Manager and her Assistant for making the virtual meetings possible and setting up the technology to allow this.

Although Covid has still been a huge part of our lives it would appear that thankfully compared to last year’s report we are all now getting back to some normality.

The Practice has continued its work in rolling out the vaccination and booster programme and utilised the local Ironstone Centre for these appointments.

The building extension work at Cambridge Avenue continues but the project has unfortunately been delayed due to supply issues. I am pleased to say the reception area has now recently opened and this will provide better facilities and accessibility for patients. I wish to acknowledge the patience and understanding that people have shown during the challenges that everyone has faced during the construction work. This has been very difficult for patients as well as staff and I would like to thank everyone for working together as much as possible to get through this. The use of Messingham surgery for some appointments has greatly helped the situation and I thank patients that have had to travel a little further afield than they would normally to accommodate this.

During the year there have been numerous staff changes and the PPG have been kept fully informed of these at each meeting.

In October 2021, the Practice introduced a new system for all non-routine appointments. This is an online system named “Klinik” which patients can use directly themselves. In addition the reception and switchboard staff are using it when patients call for appointments. This is a new way of working to try and alleviate the pressures on triage staff. The online system is designed to prioritise appointments depending on the severity of the symptoms. The system is being continually reviewed and I thank patients for their understanding during its introduction.

May I also take this opportunity to encourage patients familiar with social media to join the Facebook group “Cambridge Avenue Medical Centre”. This provides up to date information regarding the Practice and is extremely useful.

In conclusion of this report, I wish that you all remain safe throughout the coming year and we all benefit on the road to post pandemic life. I hope that the PPG meetings may commence on a face to face basis soon and the valued members continue the good work that they have traditionally undertaken.

Kay Dawson

PPG Chairperson