Patient Participation Group: Latest Minutes and Action Plan

• Apologies: Barbara Bull, Jackie Covill, Kristi Madi and apologies sent later from Richard Cook
• Present: Carol Holloway (CH) (Acting Chair), Sina Beier (SB) (Incoming Chair), Paul Towey (PT), Ann Muston (AM), Charles Van Heyningen (CvH), Rhoda Baker (RB), Grace Zhu (GZ) , Gita Aminpour (GA)

1. Election of Committee and Officers

1.1 It was noted that nominations for the Committee and for Officer roles were unopposed and therefore Sina Beier is Chair, Carol Holloway is Vice Chair and Jackie Covill is Secretary.

1.2 We welcome new members to the Committee, Anthony, Gita, Kristi and Richard and thank Amy Gates, Jess Kenny and John Pope for their previous service.

1.3 There are now 11 Committee patient members, with 1 vacancy. Also continuing as members of the Committee are Barbara Bull and Paul Towey for the Practice, Hannah Henley, Alex Davis and Bella Amiteye for the PCN.

2. Previous meeting minutes

2.1 Minutes of the last AGM held on 17th November 2022 and Notes of the last general meeting held on 27th July 2023 were accepted.

3. Reports

3.1 The Finance report and Chairs report were both accepted.

At this point the outgoing acting chair handed over the meeting to the newly elected chair

3. Revised Constitution

The proposed amendments were accepted, with one additional amendment suggested. This is at para 4.8, to which it is proposed the following words be added:

“The attendance of non-members of the PPG must be proposed and accepted by the Committee and any conflicts of interest declared in advance. Agreement will be at a PPG Committee meeting or by email from the Chair.”

4. Action plan for 2023-2024

4.1. Detailed discussions took place about each of the proposals. The proposals made under Objectives 1,2 and 4 were considered priorities and accepted. In addition PT was asked to ensure that any inspections or reports are brought to the attention of the PPG as soon as available (Obj 7).

ACTION: PT

4.2 SB will lead on developing the Communications Plan (Obj 1). Some specific points arising in discussion included:

• the need for the PPG to have its’ own direct communication channel with patients and for this to be systematic rather than opportunistic
• there is an invitation to be on the PPG mailing list on new patient registration forms, this needs to be promoted – PT to check it is there

ACTION: PT

• Practice survey has to be completed soon and joining PPG mailing list could be included in this
• must ensure we pay equal attention to both Practice sites

4.3 CH will lead on scoping out the opportunities for a local Volunteer Driver Scheme (Obj 2).

4.4 JC and KM are asked to lead on improving computer skills for less IT competent patients (Obj 2). CH has made a link with the new Digital Skills tutor for Cambridge Online, who is running sessions at Clay Farm library and is interested in working with us. CH to pass on details to JC and KM.

ACTION CH

4.5 CH and KM to lead on ways to raise staff morale (Obj 4). Committee members are asked to introduce themselves as PPG members when they go into either practice and to say a few encouraging and appreciative words to Reception staff. Cakes to say thankyou always welcome! “Thankyou” Christmas cards on a tree to be considered. WhatsApp group to be set up to facilitate communication for PPG about these activities. SB to set this up.

ACTION All and SB

5. Future meetings andf contacts

5.1 The leads for each Action will send invitations to form sub-groups as needed.

ACTION SB, JC, CH, KM

5.2 CH will ensure the Google group email is up to date and will update our Contacts list. (Note, the email group will include Beverley Gillson, Admin Manager at Trumpington Street site, not a PPG member but for her info).

ACTION CH

5.2 Agreed to maintain the pattern of the last Thursday of the month on a quarterly basis, 7.30-9pm on Zoom for Committee meetings. Dates for 2024 therefore are:

• Jan 25th
• Apr 25th
• July 25th
• Oct 24th AGM

5.3 AM attends the CPCPG meetings on a 6-weekly basis, so may need to contact SB/PT for any updates to take in between our PPG meetings. The next CPCPG meeting is 16th Nov.

Action Plan Novemeber 2023 to October 2024

Introduction

The TSMP PPG will select 2-4 Objectives from our Constitution as a focus for the Action Plan for each year to October, to be reviewed and refreshed at the AGM held in October and reported on at every meeting.

We have agreed that the Objectives of the PPG include:

1. Be an advisory body for TSMP and champion patients’ views
   • Action Proposed: Core business
     • Lead: All
2. Work to ensure a patient friendly and inclusive service is provided
   • Action Proposed: Work with other key organisations to scope out the opportunities, obstacles and way forward to create a volunteer driver scheme for medical appointments
     • Lead: Carol Holloway
   • Action Proposed: Offer a series of demos/workshops to show patients how to use the online form and the NHS app. These might be at local meetings or run as sessions within the surgeries and the Clay Farm library. Collaborate with Cambridge Online to support this work
     • Lead: Jackie Covill and Kristi Madi
3. Promote engagement with patients and carers through publicity, events and newsletters
   • Action Proposed: Develop a pro-active Communications Plan to create a two-way channel of communication between the PPG and patients.
     • Lead: Sina Beier
   • Action Proposed: A patient survey of those attending the surgery, using a structured questionnaire.
     • Lead: Paul Towey
4. Report any concerns identified in patients’ views and experiences of the TSMP
   • Action Proposed: Find ways to help raise staff morale as a way to help with staff retention and improve patient experience, e.g. occasional social events, cakes and thanks to staff when in the medical centres, create a Christmas card tree with thankyou cards.
     • Lead: ​​​​​​​Carol Holloway and Kristi Madi
5. Encourage and support health education and health promotion and self-management
   • Action Proposed: No action this year
6. Coordinate the Practice allotment for Gardening for Health
   • Action Proposed: Core business.
     • Lead: ​​​​​​​Carol Holloway and Sina Beier
7. Review any patient surveys, complaints and other formal channels of reporting and inspection, and contribute to action plans for improvements
   • Action Proposed: The Practice to routinely share its Friends and Family Test data at our quarterly meetings and making public where the PPG can see other surgery performance data or other data about health services in Cambridgeshire.
     • Lead: ​​​​​​​Paul Towey

The group is not a channel for complaints, for which the formal complaints procedure should be activated.

The Objectives selected for specific Actions in 2023-24 are numbers 2, 3, 4 and 7, with numbers 1 and 6 considered to be ongoing core business.