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.

The group would like to contact patients on occasion by email and/or text so that they can obtain the views of the widest group of patients possible. We would like to obtain your email address and mobile phone number to do this. Please complete the Patient Contact Form to provide your consent for this.

Please follow the link below if you would like to sign up for our Patient Participation Group.

Your application will be viewed and you will receive a reply within 28 days of sending your application in. 

https://forms.office.com/e/g5z3709EMn

PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP – CAMBRIDGE AVENUE AND MESSINGHAM SURGERY

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT 2025/26

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the PPG members for their participation at quarterly PPG meetings throughout the last year.  Their contribution and the regular updates provided by the managers and staff at the surgery, provide a very worthwhile connection between the Practice and representatives of the patients.

The PPG provide information and views “as seen by the patient” and this has always been met with positivity and drive to improve by the management team at the Practice.

In summary, this year, the practice has offered further training and guidance on the completion of online triage forms by patients.  This has been encouraged by the Practice but the phone lines have remained accessible for those who still wish to phone the surgery direct and speak to a receptionist. 

The Practice has also been the only one in this area to voluntarily engage in Collaborative Practice. This scheme is designed to arrange social groups for patients who may be lonely/isolated where they can meet and chat with like minded people. Groups organised to date include a Walk and Talk, Craft group, Likely Lads and Chat and Cherish. If anyone wishes to find out more about these groups, please contact the surgery for more details.

This year has also seen the practice introducing other community friendly ideas.  These included the sending of birthday cards on “milestone” birthdays and the Christmas tree in reception, where patients were able to obtain wish tags and presents gifted to others in the community.  These were very much appreciated by the recipients and it is hoped that there will be a further opportunity for this in the December 2026.

Additional notice boards have been placed in the waiting room and reception area which are regularly updated to provide useful information and health topics for patients. A Children’s Easter colouring competition has been held recently and once again this provided a lovely backdrop in the reception area for patients and staff to enjoy.  Throughout the year, regular pop ups in reception have been manned by groups such as Carers Support, Alzhimers Society, Talking Shop, Hope House etc.  These will continue to support and give advice to patients.

The PPG also has a notice board and this holds the up to date Chairperson’s report, latest minutes and date of the next meeting.  If any patients wish to know more about this, please contact the surgery.

Once again, a final thank you for everyone involved in the PPG, patients, managers and staff alike, without which the group would not be able to achieve what it does. Long may the sharing of views and opinions continue in this forum and I look forward to seeing you all in the coming year.

Kay Dawson

PPG Chairperson

April 2026