Heath Lane Medical Centre Patient Participation Group

We are here to give you the opportunity to:

• Let the practice staff and doctors know what patients would like or expect from them.
• review the results of patient’s satisfaction surveys
• Help the practice decide on their priorities for the year ahead and beyond 

We meet four times a year and always welcome new members.

If you are interested in shaping the future of the practice and would like to join the group, or would like more information about it, please complete the contact form in the 'Contact Us' tab, or contact Patient Services on 01244 563015.

The surgery is keen to expand our Patient Participation Group, so why not come along to discuss your ideas and hear about planned changes. At our previous meetings, we have discussed the results of our latest Patient Satisfaction Survey and came up with ideas on how we could improve our score. The results and our action plan can be viewed by clicking on the 'Results and Plans' tab.

Future topics at the meeting will include:

• Reviews of our patient surveys and practice initiatives
• An update on any planned changes at the surgery
• Ideas for the development of the group - what would you like to see your patient participation group doing?
• Any other ideas you want to bring along about how you'd like to see the service develop and how you think patients might be involved 

Are you thinking of going into a medical career or into a caring profession and want to get a taste of what it might be like? If you are a patient at Heath Lane Medical Centre, you might wish to join the Patient Participation Group for say a couple of years, before you take up higher education. The group meets four times a year and would value the contribution from young people. Those who have already been with the PPG have found it to give useful insight, and it could help to add skills for your CV. If the idea appeals, please get in touch with Greg Yates, the chairman, using the contact form further down this page.

Patient Participation Group Terms of Reference (TOR)

 Aims

 The aims of the Patient Participation Group (PPG) are to provide:

1. a patient perspective to the practice
2. a forum to discuss issues relevant to the practice
3. a means by which  patients may influence local health care services.

 Objectives

The core objectives of the PPG will be to:

1. Facilitate and enable dialogue between patients and the practice team and promote patient involvement in the practice.
2. Involve patients in the review, development and planning of services by Heath Lane Medical Centre and, through the practice's membership of the West Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group, to influence the wider development of medical services in Cheshire.
3. Advise on services and issues about which the practice should consult with patients, consider any comments resulting from this consultation, and support the practice in responding to them. e.g. review and where appropriate provide advice and recommendations on the practice's annual patient survey and other feedback channels, any external audits, and other surveys the PPG may consider necessary to obtain the views of the patients.
4. Ensure patients' needs are considered in the development of the practice systems e.g. appointment systems and telephone systems, providing information about and promoting understanding of such systems amongst patients.
5. Support the practice in drafting practice materials and communications, such as the newsletter and web site, and offer feedback on literature for patients.

Membership

The membership of the Heath Lane Medical Centre PPG shall include:

• Patient representatives.
• General Practitioner(s).
• Representatives from the practice team

1. PPG membership will be open to anyone registered with the practice. The practice will, as far as is possible given the voluntary nature of the group, ensure that its membership reflects the patient population.
2. All members will be expected to respect rules of confidentiality and not discuss personal or sensitive information outside a meeting.
3. Membership of the group does not confer any priority claims on the practice or any right to preferential treatment, nor does it alter the existing NHS processes for handling individual complaints.
4. Members who do not participate in any way for more than one year will be deemed to no longer be a member of the PPG, and will be removed from the circulation list

Meetings

1. Meetings will be held at least 4 times a year or more often if the group agrees.
2. Meetings will have an agenda. Minutes will be taken and will include points for action.
3. Dates of meetings will be publicised and a copy of the minutes displayed in the practice waiting areas and on the web site for patients to read.
4. The Chair, Vice-chair and Secretary  of the PPG will be appointed by the group, from the patient members, for a period of one year.
5. Meetings will be held on the practice premises.
6. A representative from the practice team will attend meetings to take minutes and organise agendas and papers.
7. Any member of the group wishing to place an item on the agenda should contact the Chairman or Practice Manager before these latter meet to plan a particular meeting agenda, usually about two weeks before such meeting.
8. Draft minutes of each meeting will be forwarded to the Chair within two weeks of the meeting, and published on the agreement of the Chair.
9. The meeting will be quorate when five members are in attendance.
10. The chairman may from time to time set up ad hoc groups from PPG members who volunteer to help carry out particular tasks/assignments.

Review

These terms of reference will be reviewed annually.

PPG Survey Information

Priorities for Practice Surveys and how they are agreed by the PPG

The PPG identify priorities on the practice website and from complaints and other forms of feedback.

The last patient survey took place over a two week period - w/c 9th and 16th October 2017.

The survey was instigated following an NHS / Mori survey conducted during the summer of 2017 when 240 questionnaires were sent to patients of the medical centre. 121 replies were returned (1.6% of registered patients).

The results of the survey were "mixed" and the PPG commissioned their own "in house" survey to compare the results with the national survey.

A questionnaire was drawn up with major questions mirroring those asked in the national survey. Rather than send out randomly in the post, PPG members approached patients who were waiting for appointments with a view to anonymously completing a 'tick box' questionnaire consisting of 31 questions across all aspects of the medical centre.Unlike the NHS/Mori survey, our survey numbered 208, a much larger sample of patients representing 2.8% of our patient number of c. 7,500.You can view the results of the survey along with a summary report below:

Summary Report

PPG Survey Results

PPG Meeting Minutes

Please click the links below to download the minutes from the most recent PPG meeting's.

July 2023

June 2023 - PCN Steering Group Minutes

April 2023

May 2022

February 2022

February 2019

April 2019

July 2019

October 2019

** Next Meeting October 2023**