3 PPG Meetings to Help Improve Services! In January ... email! APRIL 2015. Kensington & Chelsea, Queens Park & P
APRIL 2015
The Patient Participation Group (PPG) Newsletter Kensington & Chelsea, Queens Park & Paddington ISSUE 5
Welcome Readers! Welcome to the fifth edition of the Patient Participation Group Project Newsletter! We have been really busy supporting practices in K&C and Queens Park and Paddington (QPP), to ensure that the patient voice is continuing to be heard at GP Practice level. The work over the past four months has been jampacked and here are a few of the highlights:
Three PPG meetings were held for PPG representatives from North Kensington, South Kensington and QPP! PPG members were able to share what they had been discussing in their individual practices, and also raised concerns
about local issues in relation to health.
QPP are coming together to form a GP Federation! This means that all 52 practices in the local area will be working together to provide better services that keep people out of hospital and in the community. For example, if your GP does not do blood tests but a neighbouring GP does, you can be referred to the neighbouring GP for those tests instead of having to travel to the hospital!
Although a number of GP practices did not receive payment following the hard work that went into building their PPGs in 2013/14, the vast majority of practices remain passionate about the importance of encouraging patient engagement. In light of this, almost half the practices in K&C and QPP will have new noticeboards in their practices dedicated to patient engagement! This will include ‘You Said, We Did’ messages from the practice to it’s patients, and useful information for patients visiting their GP.
GP practices in K&C and
If you would like to find out more about PPGs or just ways to get involved in local health initiatives as a patient, then please contact Olivia Danso at
[email protected] or telephone 0203 235 0008!
3 PPG Meetings to Help Improve Services! In January and March of this year, PPG members came together for three separate meetings in North Kensington, South Kensington and Queens Park and Paddington, to represent their local GP practices. These meetings provided a platform for PPG members to discuss the local issues that matter most to them.
them. In addition, members suggested advertising new out of hospital services on local radio stations, in local community centres and libraries, on websites, and in supermarkets where messages are accessible to the general public.
The subject of communication between local health services and patients arose as a major issue across all three meetings, and PPG members were particularly keen to share more effective ways for patients to be told about new services that are being provided locally and at GP practice level.
Visit the PPG web page to read the minutes from all three PPG area meetings by going to http:// goo.glaZkTrg, and see the next set of dates for area meetings at the end of this newsletter. Alternatively, you can email me at
[email protected] or telephone 0203 235 0008 to receive a copy of the minutes in the post or via email!
PPG members were also concerned that many patients did not know the difference between A&E, Urgent Care and Walk in Centres. They felt that patient education was crucial to making sure patients can make the most of services available to 1
Local PPG Round Up! Portland Road Practice (North Kensington) now have a volunteer patient who will spend some time in their surgery, talking to patients and signing them up to join their Patient Participation Group! www.portlandroadsurgery. nhs.uk Knightsbridge Medical Centre (South Kensington) sent out a survey asking patients about their experience of the GP Practice and how it could be improved, and received over 200 responses! www.knightsbridgemedical centre.org.uk Garway Medical Practice (QPP) has a new website with a dedicated Patient Participation Group page! www.garwaymedical.nhs.uk
PPGs Online? Would you like a place
where you can get local GP practice information?
Would you like to feedback about a service as soon as you’ve used it?
Would you like to network
and share stories with other patients and PPG members in your local area?
Then please complete our short survey below to find out how we can use Social Media and our Healthwatch website to share PPG messages and information! www.surveymonkey.com/r/ PPGonlinenetworks
Patient Participation Group Newsletter: K&C and QPP Contact the PPG Project Officer:
Future PPG Events in June & July 2015
Healthwatch CWL Unit 26 Shaftesbury Centre, 85 Barlby Road London W10 6BN Phone: 0203 235 0008 E-mail:
[email protected]
Are you a PPG Patient Chair or a member of a PPG in North Kensington, South Kensington or Queens Park and Paddington?
Would you like to represent your PPG at an area wide meeting, find out what’s happening locally in relation to GP practices, and meet other PPG members you can share PPG knowledge with?
FIND US ONLINE! PPG Webpage Www.healthwatchcwl.co.uk/your-say/patientparticipation-groups
Then please come along to one of the three wider PPG meetings taking place in June and July 2015!
Stay Informed! Health services are constantly evolving, and patient engagement is more important than ever. Here is some news involving GPs and patients on a local and national scale to keep you informed! GMC consultation report The General Medical Council have released a report after consulting with patients, doctors and professionals across the health service, regarding the kind of sanctions doctors should face when they put patients at significant risk or harm. Healthwatch Central West London was able to input into this consultation and feedback using the patient stories we receive from local patients and PPG members. A key finding in the report was that 61 percent of patients felt that stronger action needed to be taken when doctors discriminate against patients or other health professionals. You can read the full consultation report here - http://goo.gl/ mQrCxg Transforming Primary Care NHS England have released a new report which details what patients should expect from Primary Care (GP practices included) and how new services will be delivered. The report looks at: 1. Proactive care – improving the health and wellbeing of the population by supporting self-care and patient education 2. Accessible care – ensuring services are personalised, timely and responsive 3. Coordinated care – ensuring that services are patient centred and that there is GP-patient continuity. You can read the full report here http:// www.england.nhs.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/ sites/8/2015/03/lndn-prim-care-doc.pdf
1) North Kensington PPG Meeting Date & Time: Monday 29th June 2015, 4—5.30pm Venue: The Tabernacle, 35 Powis Square, Notting Hill, London W11 2AY 2) South Kensington PPG Meeting Date & Time: Tuesday 30th June 2015, 4—5.30pm Venue: St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington Church Street, London W8 4LA 3) Queens Park and Paddington PPG Meeting Date & Time: Thursday 2nd July 2015, 4—5.30pm Venue: Beethoven Centre, 3rd Ave, London W10 4JL Visit http://tinyurl.com/lb3k8y6 to find out which area your GP Practice belongs to, and contact Olivia by email (
[email protected]) or telephone (0203 235 0008) to confirm your attendance at one of these three meetings!
Get Involved! Would you like to use your patient rep skills to contribute to plans for more joined-up health and social care services, for patients over the age of 65 in K&C and Queens Park and Paddington? Then email
[email protected] or telephone 0203 235 0008 if you would like to join any of the Task and Finish groups (full list of the groups here http://goo.gl/OvpZck)! You can also read the latest patient engagement report for the new integrated service by visiting http://goo.gl/s7TzAE!
Give Your Feedback!
Skype Consultations in GP Practices? As Primary Care services (GP Practices) are working to becoming more accessible for patients, a project called the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund has been piloting Skype Video Calls as alternative ways for GPs to have patient consultations. This was piloted in a Westminster health centre, and many benefits were found from this service, including the flexibility of remote consultations for both the GP and the patient. You can read the full report from the pilot here: http:// www.centrallondonccg.nhs.uk/media/17133/CLCCG% 20Cavendish%20Skype%20pilot%20interim%20report.pdf
Want to know what’s happening locally and nationally within health and social care services? Visit www.healthwatchcwl.co.uk and become a member to receive regular updates on health related events, and find out information about health and social care services in the tri-borough. Looking for other ways to provide patient feedback? Visit the following websites for information and ways to feedback on services and GPs, or to view other patient feedback stories: www.patientopinion.org.uk www.iwantgreatcare.org www.peoplefirstinfo.org.uk
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