July continued apace although we both wondered whether “summer” would ever arrive in Dorset! As usual we were both out and about at lots of different engagement events.
We kicked off the month with a very useful meeting with the Head of Patient Safety at NHS Dorset, where we discussed the role of patient safety partners.
Read more about these roles and NHS England’s framework for involving patients in patient safety.
Gill’s tranche of PPG meetings began with Barcellos Surgery at Ferndown where the practice provided their usual very helpful report to the group. Next, Gill met with Swanage PPG where the meeting was updated on plans for a carers group. In mid-July Gill was very interested to hear from Blackmore Vale PPG steering group about current projects they have under way, including targeting hypertension, and members’ attendance at the Shaftesbury Youth Town Council. And finally, Gill went to both PPG meetings in Sherborne: firstly, at the Grove Surgery, where one of the GPs gave a very interesting talk on medical research carried out by the practice; and secondly at the Apples Surgery where the PPG talked about plans for a patient needs survey.
Jim went to a couple of health and wellbeing fairs in July. The first one, at Chickerell village hall, showcased information from services in the Weymouth & Portland area along with giving people the opportunity to get their blood pressure checked. Jim even met the mayor of Chickerell! The second event was held in Puddletown where there was a CPR demonstration, information from local services and lots of homemade cake on offer!
Poole Central PCN invited Gill to their regular stakeholders meeting. Within the busy agenda we discussed the Flourish Mental Health project, a wellbeing discovery programme where people learn new skills, build confidence and make friends. Participants can get involved in horticulture, conservation, maintenance and rural crafts, earn new skills, work with others in a team and connect with nature.
Jim went to a couple of fantastic networking events in Weymouth and Bridport in July. At both events he spoke to a variety of people and made some excellent contacts for the future.
Dorset’s digital coordinators again invited Jim and Gill to their regular meeting. It’s so interesting for us to find out about all the helpful and educational initiatives going on under Dorset’s digital umbrella.
Jim went to several PPG meetings this month; some were face-to-face and some were a mixture of both online and face-to-face. It was the first meeting of the Weymouth Bay PPG following the merger of Dorchester Road Surgery and Preston Road/Royal Crescent practice and was really good to see representation from both staff and PPG members from all sites. There was a really good discussion at the Kinson Road PPG about informing patients of the range of services available at the practice now along with recruiting more PPG members. At the Weymouth & Portland chairs meeting it was the end of an era as Mike Byatt stepped down from chairing the group and a new chair will be sought in the near future.
At the end of July, we met with Michelle Selby and Helen Curtis from the Dorset post covid service awareness team. We heard there are still a lot of people unaware of the post covid service and Michelle and Helen would very much like to meet with PPGs to try to promote the support available to those suffering with long covid. Do let us know if you’d like them to come to your group?
Outside of work Gill and her husband have been doing lots of decorating, but Gill did manage to get a break from that and go to her annual school reunion and a trip to the Sculpture Park just outside Dorchester – well worth a visit if you’ve not been!
Jim and Kelly love watching sport so were glued to the end of the Euros football tournament and start of the Olympics, they also took a trip to Alexandra Palace to watch Suede and the Manic Street Preachers in concert.
July was certainly a busy month! It’s fair to say that Dorset has an awful lot going on and Jim and Gill are really pleased to be a part of it. As always, please do let us know if you have any events coming up that you’d like us to come along to and/or publicise for you.
