Homestead Medical Centre
Patient & Public Involvement
 Minutes

Date: Wednesday 12th June 2019

Attending: See attendance sheet	

Friends and Family Test
Friends and family tests were shared for February, March & April.  It was noted that there was an increase in patient feedback.  Overall the feedback was very positive, with just a couple of negative comments.

Discussion moved on to how the forum members can help the Practice as they were keen to be pro-active.  This was welcomed by the practice and SH said that the forum members were here to represent our 7,500 patient population so it is important that they are available to speak to patients and gather their views and opinions.  Dr Prabhu suggested that photographs be put up on the notice board in reception with email contacts so that patients can contact them directly.  This was considered a good idea and will be followed up.

It was mentioned that the Practice would also like PPG support in letting patients know that up to 10am the Practice will only be able to deal with appointment requests and any queries will only be dealt with after this time.  GE asked if requests for prescriptions came through first thing on a morning, SH said that all kinds of requests come through such as prescriptions, referral queries and sick notes.

JW noted the language barriers that prove difficult for reception staff, and praised them for their good work.

SH updated the group that the Practice were currently in the process of purchasing some software called Mjog which will be a new way for the Practice to communicate with Patients who have consented to receiving messages.  The new system will allow patients to complete the Friends and Family forms from their mobile phone and send the replies back to the Practice.  The Practice will also be able to message Patients during the flu campaign to see if they would like to have their flu vaccine, if patients decline this will be sent back to the practice and coded directly in the medical record of the patient.  The PPG members thought this was a really good idea. 

Staff Updates

Dr Grzelinski was welcomed to the group as this was his first PPG meeting, Dr Grzelinski explained that he became a Partner at the Practice in March this year and was enjoying this new position.

Dan left the Practice last month and unfortunately his replacement has also left for personal issues.  SH explained that currently reception staff are thin on the ground but interviews are due to take place on Thursday to recruit new staff.

SH updated the group that Dr China, the GP Registrar was due to leave the Practice at the beginning of August and will be replaced with a new GP Registrar, Dr Farhana Bokhari who will be with the Practice until February next year.

Dr Grzelinski mentioned that the Practice will also be taking on F2 student who will start a 6 month placement with the Practice in August.  GE commented that it was good that the Practice was taking on trainees as so many Practices are struggling and closing.

Coffee Morning Update
Three coffee mornings have been held so far.  GE and SF reported that they had been really successful and received positive feedback.  The Age UK service and Carers service had offered really useful advice and patients had benefited from meeting with these agencies.

SH asked if they would like the Practice to organise any further agencies, SF asked for a list of available agencies so they know what was available to patients.  JW offered to provide a list that he has.

Agencies involved in getting patients back to work were mentioned along with Live Well UK and social prescribers.

Productive General Practice
Dr Grzelinski informed the group that the Practice is currently 3 months into this new programme which will look at appointment availability and avoiding unnecessary appointments.  The Practice has undertaken an audit of GP appointments and identified that 33% of the face to face appointments are not necessary with 20% of the triage appointments not being appropriate.  The Practice will be providing care navigation training for receptionists to sign post patients to the most appropriate service.  Other changes will also include moving the telephones from the front desk so all calls are taken in the back office and for all queries other than appointments to be dealt with after 10am.  The PPG members thought this was a good idea, it may cause more problems at first but overall should be worth making the changes.

Group pre-diabetic consultations
Dr Grzelinski spoke about group pre-diabetic sessions that he intends to hold at the Practice.  This is for pre-diabetics to discuss dietary and lifestyle modifications, choosing the correct foods and making the right choices.  GE said that the DESMOND programme already did this.  The Practice intends to work alongside DESMOND to support patients and provide a network for these patients to share and discuss similar issues.

Online Access
The Practice now offers 25% of all appointments to be booked online.  This will allow patients to book an appointment at any time of day or night and should avoid the rush for patients to call at 8am.  GE said that patients call at 8am because if they call any later all the appointments have gone.

JW said that some patients struggle to access the online service.  SH offered to help JW if he was having any issues.

You said…..   We did…..
The Practice likes to make patients aware that they listen to the comments and suggestions that are made.
As a result the Practice has:
•	Produced Friends and Family Tests in different languages
•	Made more appointments available for online booking with all clinicians (Blood tests with HCA, Smears with Practice Nurse, Diabetic Review with ANP and routine GP appointments)

Facebook
The Practice now has an active Facebook page which is updated regularly with useful information and updates of services that are available.  PPG members were encouraged to look at the page and ‘share’ if possible.

SF asked what the age population of the Practice was, Dr Prabhu said we could get this for the next meeting.

AOB
The Summer newsletter was distributed.

SF offered to help with a reading group in the Practice where she would come in and read to those who struggled with their vision.  This was identified as a result of talking to patients at one of the coffee mornings.  The Practice fully supported this idea.

SF informed the group of Park Run GP where practices can sign up and be involved in a walking group for patients.  The Partners were already aware of this and had discussed recently in Practice with Dr Grzelinski and agreed that this should be pursued and could work well alongside the group diabetic consultations.

IA asked if letters were still sent out for birthday reviews as his birthday is in June and he has not yet received a letter. Dr Prabhu said that if he had seen a clinician recently then the review may have been completed at the same time and therefore not necessary for him to come back.  The Practice will however check this out for IA.		
		
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	Next Meeting
The next meeting will take place in September.