Patient Participation Group (PPG)
What is the PPG?
The Patient Participation Group is open to registered patients at the Essex Lodge practice. The group meets every 3 months. At least one GP from the practice comes to the meetings along with someone from the practice management team.
The PPG works with the practice to help them give good care to patients. This is particularly helpful when the practice is considering new services or other changes.
The group is not able to discuss individual patient care or complaints. The practice manager Shima Haque is happy to listen to such concerns, investigate what happened and take any action needed.
What do we discuss?
At our meeting on Tuesday 10th September we were pleased to welcome Habiba Ali, a Community Links Worker for the Plaistow area. Habiba and her colleagues work mainly with people who are socially isolated and without support from family or friends. They can do benefits checks to make sure people are getting the benefits they are entitled to, and when necessary help people to fill in application forms. They also provide support to people with mental health issues when they are applying for work. They can visit people at home or meet in a neutral safe space such as the local library or a community centre. Habiba spoke of the importance of helping people to engage with other people, and a large part of her work is in letting people know about the wide range of activities taking place in the area. Keeping active is a good way of keeping healthy and she told us about the free activity classes that are taking place in Plaistow library and in the Barking Road and Jeyes Community Centres and also about the free fitness sessions for people aged over 55 at Newham Leisure Centre. If you want to find out more, or want help, support or to join the fitness sessions, contact Plaistow library on 020 3373 0859, or pop in. Dr Nandra and the practice have invited Habiba to meet them to discuss ways they can work together, possibly setting up chair-based exercise sessions in the practice. Check the practice website for more information. Practice manager Shima Haque gave us updates on a number of changes. Following feedback from patients, the practice will increase the number of phone lines. This should have happened by November. It should be easier for patients to ring the practice, and also for the GPs, nurses and practice staff to have lines available so that they can phone patients. Shima also told us that Deaf Awareness Training has been provided for reception staff. A lot of people lack confidence in managing minor illness, particularly families with young children. The practice is organising education sessions for parents to help increase their skills and confidence in knowing when something is urgent and needs medical attention and when it is a minor illness and how to treat it at home. A member of the PPG raised the question of parking spaces for disabled patients at the practice. Although there are two disabled bays in the road outside the practice these can be used by any Blue Badge holder. The practice will look at having designated parking bays in the staff car park for patients visiting the practice. A date for your diary – the practice is holding a Macmillan coffee morning on Friday 27th September 12 – 1pm to raise money for this important charity. You are all invited! We were very pleased to welcome some new members to the group. The practice has 12565 registered patients with different ages and ethnicities. At our next meeting we’ll be looking at ways we can make sure that the views of a wider range of patients are included.
Our next meeting
We will be meeting on Tuesday 10th December 5.30 – 6.30pm. If you are interested in joining the group please contact Shima Haque on 0208 472 4888 or email our dedicated PPG email address at [email protected]
Maggie, PPG Chair
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PPG- Previous Meeting Summay dated 11th June 2019
What do we discuss?
On 11th June 2019, 5 patients met with Dr Nandra (Senior Partner) and Shima Haque (Practice Manager). The main item for discussion was Patient Access to services. Demand for appointments has increased and as many of you know it can take up to 4 weeks to get a routine appointment with the practice. This is happening in practices across the country.
For its list of patients, the practice should be offering 210 hours of appointments a week. They are offering 230 hours, but still we have to wait a long time for an appointment.
We heard about things the practice is doing to reduce the wait. On 7th May 2019 they started online consultations. Patients can complete a form on the practice website www.essexlodge.com or via an App. A doctor will respond within 2 working days.
The practice offers bookable video consultations for housebound patients. There are plans to roll this out to other patients over the coming months.
In accordance with the new NHS contract, PCN’s, Primary Care Networks, will be launched from 1st July 2019. A primary care network consists of groups of general practices working together with a range of local providers, including across primary care, community services, social care and the voluntary sector, to offer more personalised, coordinated health and social care to their local populations.
In the first year of PCN, the practice will be looking to recruit a Clinical Pharmacist and a Social Prescriber to ease the GP workload. The Clinical pharmacist can carry out medication reviews for patients with long-term conditions like raised blood pressure.
They will also be offering appointments with a social prescriber for things like exercise on prescription. These should help make more appointments available for people who need to see a doctor.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 10th September 2019 from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.
If you are interested in joining the group, please contact Shima Haque on 020 8472 4888 or email our dedicated PPG email address at [email protected] .
Maggie, PPG Chair.
