Patient Participation Group

The practice has an active Patient Participation Group (PPG), which meets quarterly. Its aim is to involve patients on the development of services provided by the practice and to influence the provision of local health services.

Any patient can join the PPG. We understand that not everyone can get to meetings, but we would like to hear your views on our services.

The next meeting will be announced shortly.

Sign up and become a PPG member

Latest Meeting Notes

9th October 2024 - Face to Face

• 1pm to 2pm with Dr Helen Salisbury and Jon Frank (Practice manager), Dr Alex Bunn and Dr Alice Summers

Patients:

• Elaine
• Shelagh
• Maggie
• Janet
• Wendy
• Alison
• Michael
• David

Apologies were received from:

• Mike, Deirdre, Cicely, Kathy, Fiona, Trudy, Barbera L

1. Welcome

Elaine welcomed everyone to the meeting, especially two new members (David and Janet).

2. Matters Arising

Botley Road closure

It was noted that the road closure was making things very difficult, and expensive (if having to take a taxi) for patients to get to the surgery or other health appointments.  The recent announcement that there was no timescale for the completion of the works just added to these problems.

Update on appointment times & bid for extra doctor time:

• Routine appointments:  One of the issues from the patient survey was the long waiting times for a routine appointment.  Jon gave an update on the situation which has now improved.
• Every Monday the practice checks the waiting times for the 3rd available appointment (with any GP).  Three months ago, this was 9 days but is currently 6 or 7 days.  Recently it has also been as low as 3 days.  Some PPG members reported that they have been seen within 3 days.

Duty Doctor:  

• The practice has one ‘duty doctor’ every day (2 on Monday and after Bank Holidays) who will see everyone who needs to be seen.  Recent guidance from the BMA has advised that the safe limit of patient contacts per day is 25.  
• The practice is going to adopt these guidelines.
• This will mean that once the duty doctor has dealt with 25 patients any other patients who contact the practice will be directed to seek help elsewhere. This could be via NHS 111 or accident and emergency.
• At the moment the duty doctor has not exceeded 25 patient contacts, but they expect that this may change over the winter period.  

ACTION:  Report how this is working at the next meeting.

Support for an additional doctor in the early morning

• Jon explained that the practice currently gets additional funding for the Enhanced Hours Scheme. This is currently for 6.5 hours per week and the appointments are in the evenings between 5pm and 8pm.
• The practice would now like to provide some additional (telephone) appointments in the early morning between 7.45am and 8.30am on 3 mornings per week.  
• The PPG was very supportive of this plan and agreed to write a supporting note to be included in the bid to BOB Integrated Care Board.
• If approved the sessions would start in the new year.
• There was some discussion about why GPs rarely do video consultations. The ‘tech’ was part of the reason, and it was suggested that most things could be sorted on the phone, and that if a patient needed to be seen they should come in to the surgery.  Dr Salisbury also referred to work by Professor Trish Greenhalgh on this topic.  

If you want to read more please visit the British Journal of Medical Practice website.

ACTION: Elaine to draft supportive note.

Primary Care Strategy

In previous meetings we have discussed the proposals from BOB ICS about the primary care strategy.

The proposals around a same-day single access hub for several practices (similar to the NHS 111 service) have gone quiet and the practice was not aware of anyone taking this forward at the moment.

The other proposal in the strategy was the setting up of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams which would provide care for frail/elderly patients.  There have been some successful pilots (nationally) but they have received additional funding.  The practice was of the view that if the community nursing services (especially District Nursing) were improved then this would probably be achieved anyway. They noted that there are now 50% fewer district nurses than some years ago.

3. NHS App – helping patients get signed up

• A ‘hands up’ survey of PPG members present showed that we all have the NHS App on our phones.  Not all of us use it though!
• The practice would like to encourage many more patients to use the App.  A lot of telephone calls with reception involve prescriptions and test results, all of which can be accessed via the App.
• The practice has suggested the PPG hold sessions in the waiting room to assist people to install and sign up to the NHS App.  We agreed that this was a good idea.  

ACTION: Elaine and Jon to agree details of times/dates/process.  PPG members – if you would like to take part in these sessions please contact Elaine.

4. Waiting Room Posters

All the posters in the waiting room were removed during the pandemic.  The practice wondered if the PPG would like to be responsible for/select posters for the waiting room.  The discussion considered the following:

• Health topics would have to be selected by the practice
• Social and community topics could be included
• It would probably need a number of people (on a rota?) to replace posters on a regular basis
• There would need to be some ground rules about content – eg no politics, religion or strange health cures (apple vinegar was mentioned)
• We would have to co-ordinate with Dr Leaver’s practice

ACTION: PPG members – if you would like to help out with this please contact Elaine.

5. Covid/Flu Clinic Arrangements

The Covid and Flu clinics were now underway for eligible patients.  The next ones are on 12th October and 26th October.  Jon mentioned that there may be an additional clinic in early November but that arrangements had yet to be finalised.

PPG members asked about the RSV vaccine that is now available.  The practice reported that the take-up has been good – they estimate they have about 200 patients who are eligible and about half of them have had the vaccine so far.  The practice will continue to invite eligible patients.

Questions were asked about whether this is a ‘one-off’ vaccine or whether people would need further doses in the future.  They also asked about why the cut-off age was 80.  There were no clear answers – other than it being a “shot in the dark”.

More information is available on the NHS website.

6. Patient feedback – themes from Older People’s event on 1st October

Elaine reported back on the Older People’s event at the Town Hall on 1st October.  She and other PPG chairs had a table (shared with Healthwatch Oxfordshire) and offered people information about PPGs and how to provide feedback on their experiences of local health services via Healthwatch.

Fear: One recurring theme was that people did not want to give feedback or criticism to their practice because they were afraid that it would have repercussions on the health care they would receive.  Elaine admitted that she was very surprised by this and wondered if practices could somehow promote a message that all feedback was welcome.  

She also circulated some anonymous comments from the event (see below). These were about several practices in Oxford (the last 2 were about Observatory).

• I don’t know if there is a PPG at my practice, but I don’t want to complain because I’m scared of repercussions.
• The people that answer the phones should be better educated.  Told them my neighbour was having a psychotic episode and they didn't know what that meant.
• Can’t book routine appointments anymore, only urgent ones where you have to phone up at 8 o’clock in the morning.
• I’ve been at my practice for over 40 years and got a text message to say I’m out of their area and should go to another doctor.
• At the last PPG meeting only 3 people turned up. It’s totally dominated by the practice and all they talked about was tidying the car park. I’m very angry.
• We get really poor care from our practice.
• I don’t know about the PPG but it used to be a good practice.
• I won’t go to the practice because of the receptionists. You can’t get past them.  Think I’ll avoid the doctor.
• Was on the phone trying to explain my problem to the receptionist – used some medical words – and was told not to use words that I had found on the internet

The discussion raised the following points:

• People are fed up with being asked for ratings – after appointments, shopping, etc.
• Only people that want to complain or moan will offer feedback
• Not enough people will say when things have been good – several PPG members noted that they had received excellent service/advice from the practice
• Even if it’s only a few people it matters if patients don’t feel they can come to the practice because of the receptionists.

7. Any other business 

Plans from Oxford Health to move services to Jordan Hill:

We discussed these plans and how difficult it will be for people to access services at their new site.  Of particular concern was how mothers with babies/toddlers would get there if they did not drive.  The building is 12 stops on the bus up the Banbury Road – and on the other side of the ring road. The days of walking to your local baby clinic are numbered.  

8. Date of next meeting to be agreed.

Next meeting to be before Christmas – date to be agreed.