Patient Participation Group

 

Our Patient Participation Group (PPG) meets to provide a forum for discussion about the practice.

What are Patient Participation Groups?

“We are patients just like you…”

Did you know that every GP practice in England is now required to have a Patient Participation Group (PPG)?

PPGs are groups of active volunteer patients working in partnership with practice staff and GPs. This unique partnership between patients and their practices is essential to achieving high quality and responsive care.

Groups meet face to face with practice staff at mutually agreed intervals. ‘Virtual PPGs’ now also exist operating alongside ‘Core’ groups enabling a dialogue with the whole patient population through email, online surveys and social media.

The first PPG was started in 1972 by GPs and there are now PPGs in dental practices and pharmacies.

PPGs work in a unique partnership with their practice built on mutual trust and respect to:

  • Act as conduit to provide a patients’ perspective ensuring services, plans and activities respond to patients’ needs and priorities.
  • Foster communication with the wider patient population building stronger patient – doctor relationships.
  • Provide practical support to practice teams e.g. conducting and analysing patient surveys, organising health awareness events.
  • Encourage those with long term and/or multiple health conditions to gain confidence in managing and taking control of their health and care.
  • Help other patients take more responsibility for their health and make informed decisions.

Hadleigh and Boxford Patient Participation Group (PPG)

Are you interested in having your say?

Members of the PPG become involved in the range and quality of the services provided and take part in the decision making process that leads to any change in existing services. The PPG takes a leading part in developing patient surveys, sharing results, newsletters and patient feedback.

Hadleigh and Boxford Patient Participation Group was formed as an email group in 2011, with the intention of patients becoming more of an integral part of the practice.

In May 2016, the PPG developed and improved by changing from an email group to one which meets together on a bi-monthly basis.  The PPG is coordinated by the Practice and the patient members.  Group meetings are also chaired by a patient member.

It is our aim that we have a broad range of patient members to get a truly representative group. At present, the PPG members consist of twelve patients, Tracey Squirrell (Practice Manager) and Dr. Iain Lyons.

We have encouraged a broad cross section of patients to join our PPG in order to obtain a truly representative sample and invite young people, workers, retirees, people with long term conditions and people from non-British ethnic groups to join our group.  Whilst the non-British ethnic groups make up 1.9% of the Practice population we are unable to engage any of this group at this time.

We also appreciate that everyone leads full busy lives and that our group is small and does not reflect the practice population.  With this in mind, we have created a Virtual discussion group to encourage wider patient participation and representation.  This means we can keep in touch via an on-line discussion board.

If you are a patient at Hadleigh or Boxford, you are passionate and committed to improving quality care and you would like to volunteer to be part of our PPG or Virtual Group, then we would like to hear from you.

For any further information or to sign up to the PPG please use our online form.

Sign up and become a member of the PPG