Patient Participation Group

The first Patient Participation Group was set up by a GP in 1972 and many general practices in England have recognised their importance and followed suit.  The Marsden Road PPG was established in the 1990’s.  A PPG Is generally made up of a group of volunteer patients, the practice manager and one or more of the GPs from the practice, they meet on a regular basis to discuss the services on offer, and how improvements can be made for the benefit of patients and the practice.

The beauty of PPGs is that there is no set way in which they work – the aims and work of each group entirely depends on local needs – but they are have the aim of making sure that their practice puts the patient, and improving health, at the heart of everything it does.

• In practice, PPGs can play a number of roles, including:
• Advising the practice on the patient perspective
• Organising health promotional events
• Communicating with the wider patient body
• Running volunteer services and support groups to meet wider local needs
• Carrying out research into the views of those who use the practice (and their carers)
• Influencing the practice and wider NHS
• Fundraising to improve services provided by the practice

Patient participation should be seen as a very positive process but requires enthusiasm and commitment in order to achieve all the potential benefits.

Do you think you have something to contribute?

Interested in joining and making a difference to healthcare in your community?

Do you simply want to find out more?

ABOUT US

As mentioned the Marsden Road PPG was formed in the 1990’s to improve patient feedback and involvement in the development of services at the Surgery. Comprising patient and practice members the group now meets bi monthly to act as a critical “conduit” and an important point of contact between patients and the practice.

BACKGROUND

Now that we have settled into our new building we have re-focused on the Patient Participation Group, a diverse group of patients at Marsden Road Surgery involved in helping us set priorities and shape the development of services here, recently we have set out terms of reference for the PPG which make clear for all the role of the group.

We have wanted to do this for some time, but there just was not the adequate space and facilities at the old premises.  Our move back into the refurbished building has coincided with further emphasis from the Government 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 as such although there is a recommended participation of two years as laid out in the new terms of reference.  The Patient Participation Group (PPG) comprises registered patients drawn from a wide spectrum of the type of users of services at Marsden Road 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:

Specific roles may include:

Assisting the Practice Manager and Practice GP’s in developing the Participation Group.

Reviewing existing surveys and advising on future surveys, including helping to develop the questions and style of survey.

Assisting the implementation of surveys, ensuring good return rates and helping in the analysis of results.

Helping the practice GPs to formulate action plans that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound).

To assist in enabling the actions to be delivered.

To ensure that the action plan is published in a form that is easy for the public to understand, including on this website.

To develop the role of the PPG (eg patient education, fundraising, etc).

DUTIES:

To attend six PPG meetings per annum.

To assist with the smooth running of PPG meetings including active participation.

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.

If you become interested in applying to join the Marsden Road Patient Participation Group then please contact Lee, Nadine or Margaret at the Surgery.