BACKGROUND
Now that we have settled into our new building we have developed a Patient Participation Group, a diverse group of patients at Highfield Surgery involved in helping us set priorities and shape the development of services here; if you like to act as "critical friends". We wanted to do this for some time, but there just was not space and facilities at the old premises. Our move to the Primary Care Centre coincided with the launch of a Government initiative to encourage Patient Participation Groups in general practice. The Government is particularly keen for groups to orchestrate patient surveys and to collect opinion, thereby helping the GP’s set priorities and make improvements. Groups in other parts of the country have also become involved in improving patient education and understanding, and even sometimes in fundraising.
OVERVIEW
The role is unpaid and on a voluntary basis. There is no specific duration or contract. The Patient ParticipationGroup (PPG) comprises registered patients drawn from a wide spectrum of the type of users of services at Highfield Surgery. 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. Specific roles may include:
1. Assisting the Practice Manager and Practice GP’s in developing the Participation Group.
2. Reviewing existing surveys and advising on future surveys, including helping to develop the questions and style of survey.
3. Assisting the implementation of surveys, ensuring good return rates and helping in the analysis of results.
4. Helping the practice GPs to formulate action plans that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound).
5. To assist in enabling the actions to be delivered.
6. To ensure that the action plan is published in a form that is easy for the public to understand, including on this website.
7. To develop the role of the PPG (eg patient education, fundraising, etc).
DUTIES:
To attend four PPG meetings per annum.
To assist with the smooth running of PPG meetings including, where agreed, chairing a meeting, taking minutes or otherwise participating.
To fulfil the PPG member roles listed above.
To follow the guidance of the Practice Manager
We welcome applications from patients to join the PPG at any time. There is no guarantee that making an application would mean you will join the group as it depends on group numbers and composition at the time. We already know many of the different types of patient that come to us and want to ensure we get a really good spread in the group.
At present we would be particularly interested to hear from anyone aged under 25, or who has very young children.
If you become interested in applying to join our Patient Participation Group then please download and print out the application form and send it to us.
(updated 30th July 2011)