We would like to know how we can improve our service, particularly patient education and how you and other patients perceive our surgery and staff. To that end we have established a Patient Participation Group [PPG]. The overall aim of our group is to develop a positive and constructive relationship between patients and the practice.
A PPG can:
- Offer patient feedback about their experiences with the surgery
- Improve patient education in chronic illness
- Help the practice improve services
- Improve communication and be actively involved with patient surveys.
- Help to promote good health
- Offer practical support to the practice
A PPG isn’t:
- A forum for complaints
- A fundraising organisation
- A time consuming activity
The group key roles would be to:-
- Create and improve two-way communication between patients and the practice.
- Bring a sense of partnership between the practice and patients.
- Provide an avenue for patients input in the way facilities and services are planned and provided
- Collect patient opinions and experiences to help the practice to evaluate its services
The PPG aims to be a representative sample of our registered patients and consists of young people, workers, retirees, people with long term conditions and people with first hand experience of caring for others.
We are always interested to know whether any patient feels they can add a useful input to the PPG and we are happy to discuss this further with you. If you would like to participate in the PPG please contact the Practice Manager, on an informal basis, to discuss the next steps. There has been a display on our notice board in the waiting room for some time asking for volunteers. We have also contacted patients who have not regularly visited the surgery asking if they would be interested.
The PPG meets at the practice during lunchtimes and is also involved in conducting patient surveys particularly centred on patient education, information and communication. The group has also recently created a patient newsletter, which it aims to produce twice a year.
Patient Survey 2016
The PPG supported us to conduct our annual patient survey during the week commencing Monday 5th September 2016.
Members of the PPG were in the waiting room every morning during that week with clip boards and copies of the survey for patients to complete.
Patients who were unable to come into the surgery and wished to participate in the survey had the option of completing the form via the website.
We would like to thank all the patients and PPG memnbers who helped to complete the survey. The results were very encouraging and have been published in the PPG Autumn Newsletter.
A summary of the work of the PPG, minutes of meetings and PPG newsletters can be viewed here.
