Working alongside practice teams, patient groups get involved in a variety of activities. As well as providing feedback to practices on the services it provides and helping get information out to the wider patient population, groups work on projects which bring health and wellbeing benefits to their fellow patients.
Many PPGs are keen to share their initiatives, to work with other groups and to get new ideas to take back to their own groups.
Here’s some tried, tested and inspirational ideas which groups have shared with us. We’re like to add more to the list so do get in touch if you have any more gems or if your PPG would like any support with its activities. We are happy to support you however we can. Email us at communications@nhsdorset.nhs.uk
Organising events
The NHS wants to help people take more responsibility for their own health and some PPGs are supporting us to do this by putting on health and wellbeing events. These can be targeted at a particular patient group, i.e. diabetes patients or to the general population where people can come along to get information and advice from health and wellbeing specialists, for example The British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK and local health and activity groups.
This is a good way to give patients information on managing a health condition in an informal and even entertaining way! PPGs can work with their GP surgery to arrange guest speakers, send invitations and publicise these events. Popular subjects have included diabetes, eating well, heart health and dementia.
A good newsletter can be a great way for the practice to communicate with patients. PPGs can collect information and articles from the practice, write articles and ensure the language is patient-friendly and relevant. Distribution methods can be discussed with the practice but could include laminated copies in waiting rooms, publishing on the practice website and email.
Flu clinics can be busy things! Some PPGs support their practice team to deliver a better patient experience by helping to organise the flow of patients, ensuring seating is available for patients who need it, providing refreshments and patient transport and running a PPG information stand.
Have a distinct role with the practice. They support patients to access community support to help reduce isolation and loneliness. Invite them along to your PPG meeting to find out more about what they do and see if you can work together. Perhaps a health champion could be a member of the PPG and report back on their activities at each meeting.
Are growing up around the country. These specialist clinics bring together patients who need regular leg treatments in a supporting and social environment. PPGs in Dorset already support the clubs by providing refreshment and transport for patients. More information on the Lindsay Leg Club.
Patient group members can work with and offer their support to their local voluntary car scheme. These teams of drivers help patients who are not able to arrange their own travel to get to their practice appointments. Groups have also explored having more flexible clinic times with their practice to enable better patient access.
To help reduce loneliness and isolation and working alongside local or voluntary transport groups, PPGs have organised patient outings to local attractions, garden centres or for shopping. This could be a great project to involve health champions in.
Work with the practice to organise a family fun day or more general open day. Invite local residents to come along to find out more about the practice and think about inviting local emergency services and other health and well-being organisations to have stands at the event. PPG members have previously helped with health-checks, refreshments, raffles and demonstrated patient online access and e-consult.
A lot of people don’t have access to the internet so have difficulty identifying local support services. PPGs in Sherborne came together to produce a directory “Who’s Who in the Sherborne area”. It listed a wide range of local services and telephone numbers. The project was sponsored by a local company and PPG members distributed the directories across the town.
Could your PPG fundraise for a local voluntary or charity organisation which is relevant to the practice? There are a variety of fundraising activities including bring & buy book sales in the practice reception area, coffee mornings, charity bazaars, 100 clubs, quiz nights, raffles or simply having charity tins in the practice.
Working with the practice team and patients
A Christchurch PPG member attends the practice on a weekly basis to show patients how to use the self-check-in machine which gives patients the confidence to use it unaided for future appointments. This helps reduce queuing time at the reception desk.
A Christchurch PPG member attends the practice on a weekly basis to show patients how to use the self-check-in machine which gives patients the confidence to use it unaided for future appointments. This helps reduce queuing time at the reception desk.
With the advancement of technology, especially with tablets and smartphones, there are a growing number of ways in which patients can communicate with the practice and engage with other areas of the NHS. Some PPGs members are happy to support fellow patients either individually or as part of an event, to get online access to their patient record enabling them to manage their prescriptions, appointments and test results remotely.
The National Association of Patient Participation (NAPP) is an organisation that supports patient groups and provides resources and forums to enable PPGs to better support their patients. NAPP membership can be funded by agreement with individual practices.
Every GP practice will have a regular Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection to evaluate the services they provide. As part of this inspection the CQC normally likes to seek feedback from the PPG. Practice managers frequently invite their PPG to be involved.
Identifying and treating high blood pressure can prevent serious health issues. PPGs have worked with their practice to help promote the use of blood pressure monitors which more and more practices now have.
Practice websites are an excellent source of information about healthcare and practice services. They should be good and user-friendly sites. Regular PPG reviews can ensure content is relevant and up to date, that hyperlinks direct the reader to the correct place and that PPG information is prominent. Practices can be alerted about incorrect or out of date information.
A great way to get new PPG members up to speed is to give them a welcome pack. Some groups provide an up-to-date list of PPG members, staff members at the practice, a synopsis of the PPG along with a brief description of PPG projects. Groups have also included details of previous agendas and meeting minutes, so the new member(s) get a better understanding of the group.
Some PPG members come into contact with patients through their work as PPG members. It’s important that they are clearly identifiable so having a badge or lanyard which is of the same design as practice staff does the trick. Many simply have the word “volunteer” or “PPG member” clearly displayed, others have a full photo-identity badge.
What do patients think?
Getting feedback from patients is a good way to find out how they feel about the practice and can be used as a basis for a discussion with the practice during PPG meetings. Find out if your practice has a suggestions/feedback box in the surgery, if not, consider working with them to get one. Once a feedback/suggestions box is in place encourage the surgery to promote it. Feedback gathered through the practice friends and family test could also be used.
Asking patients specific questions about your practice or one of the services it delivers, is an excellent way to understand how patients feel. Feedback can help guide service improvements. Using online survey software, we can help PPGs develop relevant and professional surveys. For more help and information on how to go about this email communications@nhsdorset.nhs.uk
This is crucial in helping the practice to share information and to seek the views of the wider patient population. The PPG can work with the practice to increase membership by displaying posters in the surgery, promoting membership in the practice newsletter, on the website and social media channels (where appropriate). Why not create a membership form to encourage patients to join the group? An example membership form can be found in the ‘resources’ section.
Patient feedback on practices can be obtained in a number of ways including via Google and NHS Choices. Could your group look at increasing levels of online feedback by promoting these methods at the practice? This could help to identify issues that the practice might need to address but equally important, good feedback could boost staff moral and give patients confidence that they are served by a great team.
One West Dorset PPG produced a feedback card which included an online link to one of the feedback tools and encouraged their patients to get involved!
Complaints can be an excellent way for PPGs to see how patients feel about different aspects of the practice and can help the group raise questions with the surgery. Many PPGs ask their practice to provide a summary of complaints to identify any trends.
