We can’t quite believe it but January marks five years since we started our roles to support PPGs! We’d like to thank all the fabulous PPGs, GP practices and other friends we’ve made over the last five years in being so proactive in supporting your communities to share healthcare messages and taking part in activities and events, you’ve really made our roles a joy! Here’s to another great year of patient participation!
We started the month by meeting with colleagues the Dorset County Hospital Patient Engagement Team, exploring how we can work together sharing information and best practice. We’ve set up regular monthly meetings to ensure we stay abreast of what is happening in each organisation.
Gill began January with a visit to the Gillingham PPG in North Dorset where the practice manager updated on progress with the practice transformation plan which would be presented to staff at the end of January – it all sounds very exciting and Gill is looking forward to the next PPG meeting!
We ‘flew the flag’ for Dorset PPGs in January. We met online with Olivia from Suffolk & North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) to share our experiences on how we communicate with our GP colleagues and PPGs in Dorset. We also attended the national ‘PPG Champions’ meeting, hosted by NHS England where we were able to join the debate about PPGs in England and share the work happening in Dorset.
At the Cross Road PPG Jim heard that the practice has so far raised over £300 from donated books that it’s spending on their period poverty and childhood oral health campaigns. He also went to the first Kinson Road PPG meeting where there were positive discussions about changes to the practice phone message and how people with experience of medical conditions such as Parkinsons can help share their experience for the benefit of practice staff.
Gill went along to the meeting of Swanage PPG where the group talked about their plans to hold a patient survey to find out about people’s experiences in contacting the surgery following the installation of a new phone system. We also heard about the exciting plans for the carers fair in June.
Jim went to a health and wellbeing event organised by Weymouth & Portland Primary Care Network (PCN), and despite the poor weather and ongoing roadworks in the area there was a huge turnout of people getting information, talking to stallholders and getting their blood pressure checked. He also went to a community networking event hosted by Weymouth Town Council, which was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with old contacts and connect with new people
The online Preston Road & Royal Crescent PPG meeting always has a packed agenda. There was a good discussion about digital support available for people at the practice, where people can go to get technical help and whether the digital volunteers at the practice were needed again. The group were also introduced to Dorchester Road practice and spoke to Carole, the Practice Manager ahead of the practice merging with them in the spring.
Gill was really pleased that Leg Clubs have been able to restart around the county and she was delighted to be invited along by Shore Medical to see their Leg Club in action. It was so good to hear from patients extolling the virtues of the service and how much they enjoyed being able to meet others with similar conditions. You can find out more from The Lindsay Leg Club Foundation on how patients are supported and often recover more quickly.
Jim joined virtually to the hybrid Wyke & Lanehouse PPG meeting and heard how the new Klinik system that’s used by patients to interact with the practice has had a positive impact on the speed enquiries are processed and reduced the waiting list. There was also good feedback from the practice on the relationship with e-Harley Street since they acquired the practice.
We both joined a webinar hosted by NHS England about online patient registration which many practices across Dorset are now offering. It was a really good webinar, very interesting to hear about how the process works and how it can be of benefit to practices and patients alike.
Next, Gill was off to Sherborne for the Grove Surgery PPG meeting. This is always really well attended with lots of great feedback from patients. The managing partner is always in attendance and often a GP too, which is really good from the patients’ point of view as they can see how much the practice appreciates the PPG.
Jim went to the meeting in Puddletown of the core PPG and the practice. There were lots of positive discussions and suggestions of how the group evolves including finding volunteers for Age UK’s befriending initiative in the village to get more vulnerable and socially isolated people involved with local groups and clubs.
The Association of Residents of Canford Heath (ARCH) kindly invited Gill along to their meeting to talk about the benefits of not only PPGs, but also patient engagement in general.
Gill was really pleased to be able to explain how patient engagement can really help a practice and community in informing future services and providing feedback on the services currently available. Gill then went on to the Barcellos Practice PPG meeting in Ferndown, where the group agreed its Terms of Reference and also discussed how to advertise the PPG towards the younger generation (Gill suggested liaising with local schools and also using the Instagram social media platform to raise awareness).
Gill’s next PPG meeting was at Penny’s Hill practice in Ferndown where the meeting received an incredibly helpful update from one of the PCN’s pharmacists on how pharmacy services are working across the network and how these can benefit patients. The group also discussed the plans for a health event across the primary care network, so it will be interesting to hear more at the next meeting!
Jim was really pleased to attend the health & culture event in Dorchester hosted by the Arts Development Company and NHS Dorset.
The event showcased work happening in Dorset and across the country where art and culture was having a positive impact on healthcare initiatives, and there was lots of positivity in the room about future initiatives in Dorset. It was also really good to see PPG members taking part in the discussions and making contacts for future projects!
We hosted a PPG webinar in January on the topic of reducing waste medicine. Tracy Lyons, the Principal Pharmacist from NHS Dorset shared with attendees what happens when people stockpile medications and the knock-on effect this has on national medication stocks, the environment and NHS budgets. There is a campaign being launched in Dorset to encourage people to think about the medication they have called ‘only order what you need’.
More information about the campaign.
Gill was really pleased to be invited along to the January meeting of Action for Health and Care in Purbeck, held in the beautiful building which is the home of Wareham Town Council. This group is separate from the PPGs and is attended by the Friends of Wareham and Swanage Hospitals, the Purbeck Primary Care Network Clinical Director, Help and Kindness, the Purbeck Health Programme Advisor from Public Health, and the Dementia Friendly Purbeck group. It was really good to find out there are over 30 outpatient clinics being run from Wareham Hospital, and the clinical director also updated on success in recruiting pharmacists across the PCN. We also learned that the Wareham Family Hub is now open and the Swanage Family Hub is working towards an opening around March time.
At the end of the month Gill went along to the Shore Medical PPG Champions meeting. This is a newish group but has some brilliant ideas for future projects such as possibly arranging a health talk, and how to raise patient awareness of the PPG. This time we had an excellent presentation from Lizzie Eden, Carers Engagement Facilitator, as well as a very helpful update from the social prescribing team.
Outside of work Jim celebrated both his brother’s birthday and Burns night with lovely meals out. He also tried to burn some of the calories by taking a bracing walk along Chesil beach and took part in a wassail at Tumbledown Farm!
Outside of work Gill had a very busy month where something was happening every weekend! She and her husband caught up with friends they’d not seen for a while, and after that they had a couple of weekends away looking after their grandson for the weekend and then visiting their son and his partner in London. They also had great fun (and team success!) at a quiz run annually in support of the RNLI, so it was a busy time!
Phew! January certainly started with a bang and we were so pleased to visit so many practices and PPGs. It’s always so heartening to hear about all the fantastic work Dorset’s amazing PPGs are up to – if January is anything to go by, 2024 is set to be a bumper year!
