ANNUAL REVIEW Lambeth Patient Participation Group Network

Transcription

1 ANNUAL REVIEW 2017 Lambeth Patient Participation Group Network

2 Annual Review 2017 Contents Page 1. Foreword Highlights 3 3. Our work this year 4 4. Working relationships 5 5. PPG development & work 6 6. Keeping in touch Our finances Our team 14 1

3 Foreword We are very pleased to present the third annual report of the Lambeth Patient Participation Group Network. Its publication comes at the end of a busy and productive year for the organisation. During this time we have carried patients` voices to the very core of the health and social care decision making process. From tackling challenges presented by the ominously sounding Sustainability and Transformation Plan, to collaborative working with GP Federations on promoting Online Access and supporting various activities around self care. We have built and strengthened our work with patient participation groups, general practices, the Clinical Commissioning Group, the Local Care Networks, Lambeth Together and voluntary and community organisations. In the coming year, there will be many exciting and also challenging developments in Lambeth. We will continue to ensure that these developments involve local people in a meaningful way, so as to deliver a person-centred and integrated health and social care service. We would like to thank Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group for their financial support of our work. With the right support, patient participation groups can be an invaluable asset and partner in the changing environment. Sandra Jones Chair of Lambeth Patient Participation Group Network 2

4 2017 Highlights January * AGM new board members April * GP Fed Online Access collaboration * Integrated Care - patient stories to inform changes to proposals May * Medicines Guidance consultation June * Digital App event - * PPG Awareness Week * Minding Health workshops 10 PPG members attended training sessions * STP Consultation public event * Next Steps in your Referral - patient input & comments on redesign July * GP Delivery Framework Self Care & Carers Training practice PPG Incentive scheme August * PPGN website launch September * Successful Self Care week market place event November * Self Care Week activities and events * Lambeth Together engagement event December * Joint event with South East London Vision (SELVIS) 3

5 Our work this year The organisation grew steadily during Successful negotiation with the Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group ensured our funding from April 2017, giving the Network a degree of stability and continuity. Working from a centrally located office has been key to the operation of our day to day business, with a contained meeting room which provides space for our working groups and board. The appointment of three new board members at the January AGM further extended the skills and knowledge base of the governance team. Obtaining charitable status, in 2016, meant that the organisation became publicly accountable and the statutory rules and regulations further influenced the parameters in which we operate. This year saw the organisation provide a work place pension; opportunities for staff and members to attend training and a widening of working partnerships. Changes to staff working patterns enabled us to use our resources more creatively by broadening our team base, allowing us to explore new avenues of funding and training support. We have during the year actively supported practices to increase patient numbers registering to use online services, improving access to appointments, repeat prescriptions and medical records. We are working closely with Lambeth GP Federations to further this aim. Our office processes and procedures are now fully embedded, with the office staffed five days a week. Our small team works very closely with the board to deliver our objectives and aims. Going forward, we will continue to monitor and manage our finances and reporting obligations with confidence, and seek to recruit a treasurer, which will bring another level of expertise to our financial planning and development. 4

6 Working relationships The Network s Policy and Strategy sub-group has been meeting monthly through the year to review the national and local policy context in which patient participation groups (PPGs) are working. It aims to ensure the voice of PPGs is heard when changes are planned. It has been a difficult year for everyone in the NHS, and for social care in general. We are concerned about the Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships, and the extent to which local decision making seems to be curtailed, with increasingly top down management over the year which has eroded trust from the public. We are troubled about the level of cuts: the impact this will have on our services and the workforce. We have been active in raising issues with NHS Lambeth and commend their public discussions, which give us and others opportunities to seek information and raise our concerns. We have also worked with the Health and Wellbeing Board and the Scrutiny committee, putting forward our views. A major concern is about the lack of real involvement, and we wish to ensure that this is improved next year so that the changes made are underpinned by coproduction. We will continue to press for more joint working with patients to promote prevention and self management, and build on the successes of work on self care. During the year our representatives have been very active partners in the Local Care Networks, both at Board level and at the Forums. We feel strongly that the patient voice should be stronger, and are constantly seeking to ensure that their discussions keep a patient perspective, and we will continue to keep this as a focus. Overall there has been less engagement with patients in the design and development of change, and funding for work on this has not been made available. 5

7 The Network has been active in the formation of the alliance, now called Lambeth Together, and our approach for the next year is to build on this work so that processes are improved through joint design. We see the year ahead as one where we will increasingly promote joint working and learning with other key stakeholders including the voluntary and community sector, the Federations, and other key partners. PPG Development The Network s development sub-group has met nine times during the year. Our main focus has, as before, been on supporting and promoting PPGs in practices in Lambeth, with particular attention to setting up groups in those practices that do not already have them. Much of the work on the ground has continued to be done by the Network s Development Officer, Wai Ha Lam, helped by our volunteer Graham Barker. There have been some encouraging developments in that the number of patient-led, fully-functioning, PPGs in Lambeth has gone up during the year. In October 2017, out of 44 practices in Lambeth, there were 23 (just over half the total) with PPGs that were actively engaging with the Network. There are practices that the Network still needs to build working relationships with, as well as practices that need to develop their PPGs. We will continue to work with these to develop patient-led groups. 6

8 As part of our work plan for the coming year, we have tried to identify which PPGs most need our support and we will focus on encouraging them to become established. In the early part of 2017, members of the sub-group visited several practices to assess how useful they had found the PPG Gold Standards and Toolkit that had been developed in 2015 and distributed early in We spent some time developing a Self Assessment form that was used in the interviews both to give feedback on the Gold Standards and to encourage practices to think how they might use the Toolkit and the Gold Standard to develop their PPGs. The interviews confirmed that some practices have difficulty in finding the resources required to set up and provide administrative support for a PPG; it is also often difficult to find enough patients who are willing to get involved. The Clinical Commissioning Group s Patient Participation Listening Incentive Scheme ended in March It was intended to encourage practices to work more closely with their PPGs. Many held a range of events for patients that raised the PPGs profiles and increased patient involvement. We are continuing to build on those results, particularly at the bi-monthly Network meetings, and to encourage PPGs to take the initiative in working with their practices to promote patient health and wellbeing. The meetings also provide regular opportunities for members to keep up to date with developments in primary healthcare, particularly the work of the Local Care Networks and planning events and activities for PPG Awareness Week and other notable campaigns. At the July Network-wide meeting, we discussed PPG development and there was a useful exchange of views and ideas among attendees which has informed our work plan for the coming year. The September meeting was attended by a number of voluntary sector organisations, providing PPG representatives with valuable contacts. For Self- Care Week in November, we worked with the Lambeth GP Federations to help PPGs to arrange events around how patients can take care of their wellbeing. The pace of practice mergers has slowed compared with last year but we know 7

9 that they will continue to happen. Such mergers can be very unsettling for the patients affected, who are sometimes among the last to be told what is happening. We are still concerned that all those involved should understand the duty of care owed to patients in such circumstances and ensure that patients have the information they need, at the right time to help them make decisions. The work of PPGs Developing a PPG can be like a roller coaster ride - with ups and downs along the way - from the initial excitement of many people joining a PPG, to the hard reality of having only one person turning up for a planned meeting! In the past 12 months, there has been positive development in the South East locality with three patient-led PPGs becoming established at the Knights Hill Surgery, Herne Hill Group Practice and Rosendale Practice. Paxton Green PPG has provided inspiring peer learning to some newly developing PPGs by sharing their experiences, its relationship with their practice and how their PPG works. This has allowed new PPGs to get a real insight into the organisation of a group. The Incentive scheme run by the GP Federations enabled many practices and PPGs to organise a range of diverse and inspiring activities. The Network organised a Market Day event for voluntary sector organisations to showcase their services and to foster closer working relationships between themselves and PPGs. Examples of activities hosted during Self Care Week include: A health and wellbeing day organised by the Corner Surgery PPG and a stress management workshop arranged by Springfield PPG. Over 100 people attended each event! A targeted drop in session for carers - Vassall Medical Centre PPG and Streatham Practices 8

10 The development of a Self Care website, with useful guidance and tips for patients at Streatham Place, Edith Cavell and Streatham High practices Information sessions run by PPGs at Clapham Family practice, Herne Hill Road surgery, Herne Hill Group practice, Knights Hill surgery, Minet Green practice, The Grantham practice and Clapham Park practice. Many practices displayed posters and leaflets with useful hints and tips on self care and managing health conditions Valley Road practice working with their PPG, organised a regular programme of chair-based exercise classes for their older and isolated patients. Apart from physical wellbeing, the activity provided social contacts for this group of patients. The success and positive outcomes from the initial programme led to the group submitting an application for external funding to expand and extend the activity. Streatham Common and Dr Masterton patients attend regular health care talks and events organised by their respective PPGs. These meeting not only provide useful networking and social interaction, but topical healthcare information and an opportunity for patients to share their experiences. To ensure we also reach out to different equality groups, we collaborated with the Portuguese Partnership in organising a Health and Wellbeing day for over 360 Portuguese speaking community members. Also, participants from a Share Your Experience day jointly organised with South East London Vision highlighted some really important issues for people with sight loss, using GP services. PPGs across the borough continue to work with their practices and the Network to ensure patients are seen as a valuable partner and resource to help share the important messages about healthcare. 9

11 Keeping in touch Fine tuning the Network s website ( took longer than we had hoped and is still a work in progress. However, the end result is proving a hit with members and users. We`ve made changes to make navigation easier, giving us flexibility to update the site to meet our needs as we develop and grow. Our use of social media is gradually building momentum, with our Twitter (@LPPGN), Facebook and Instagram pages slowly becoming more visible. We hope to increase our following over time. Our bi-monthly LPPGNews newsletter continues to be an invaluable source of information for our members, practices and wider audiences, carrying a mix of national and local stories, education, research and development items. We have seen an 18% increase in the number of subscribers during the year, which is encouraging. Among the many topics covered were: concern over online pharmacies; a substance misuse and sexual health service for young people, and self care week. Looking ahead, we will be following closely the progress of the Sustainability and Transformation agenda - a byword for cuts, according to critics. There will also be updates on recent initiatives such as Lambeth Together - the integration of health and social care services in the borough. Over the year, texts, surgery websites and the patient inspired surgery TVs have become valuable additional media channels to convey our message. We have continued to liaise with the Policy Group on a regular basis, improving the committees` work protocols to ensure that the Network s key messages are across all of our communications to our stakeholders. Visual communication is a key area identified for improvement in the year ahead. Graphic design, web design and page layout - the elements of visual 10

12 composition across our platforms continue to make demands on our very limited budget and we are working hard to address this challenge. In the coming year we will attune our news gathering capacity using surveys and on-the-ground research tools with more fieldwork on patients` experiences of service delivery. Events & Activities Lambeth Country Show 2017 We spread our message and unveiled our new banner at the Health & Wellbeing Trail at the Lambeth Country Show. It was a great opportunity to interact directly with people and get first hand feedback on their experiences of using primary care services. Supported throughout the Saturday by a steady stream of PPG volunteers, an atmosphere conducive to conversation and creativity ensued to help shape the future of PPGs and our Network. Network wide meetings The Network continues to host the popular bi-monthly network wide meetings. The six meetings a year provide an opportunity for members to share their experiences, feedback, take part in consultations and respond to the Network s call to review and reflect on progress and discuss topical healthcare issues. This year the Network hosted six meetings and events for members focusing on various aspects of the work within the borough. Digital Apps Review & Reflection Staying Healthy Service redesign Self Care Week planning GP Delivery Framework Lambeth Together Self Care Week The Network, in partnership with the GP Federations joined forces to promote Self Care Week (November 2017). The idea was to 11

13 encourage people to do simple things to take responsibility for their own health. Many practices worked with their PPGs to promote the messages of self care Development of a Self Care Mircosite (website) for Streatham High, Streatham Place and Edith Cavell patients. Health talks on exercise, healthy eating, managing medicines and managing long term conditions by pharmacists, a local gym, walking and gardening groups for Corner Surgery patients. Information desks, signposting to local services and facts about the changes to medicines prescribing at Clapham Family, Knights Hill & Tulse Hill practices. Stress management workshops at Springfield & Riverside practices. Managing diabetes for Grantham patients. Chair exercise sessions for patients of Valley Road. Regular health talks and information sharing for Streatham Common and Dr Masterton patients. Clapham Park patients had presentations from the Expert Patients Programme and had discussions about medicines. Further activities and events are planned for the coming year as the messages about self care and managing health conditions are ongoing. 12

14 Financial Overview Income ( ) Income received from Lambeth Clinical Commissioning Group 70,000 Income carried forward from 2015/2016 8,684 Total Income 78,684 Expenditure ( ) Staff costs 59,001 Running costs 12,191 Total Expenditure 71,192 Surplus/(Deficit) 7,492 In the year to end March 2017, the Network reported income of 78,684 and expenditure of 71,192 leaving us with a surplus of 7,492. We have managed to keep our running costs in check and whilst there was some unresolved expenditure during the accounting year, the organisation has worked within the tight constraints of the operating budget. The coming year will bring greater challenges as budgets become more restricted and expectations for delivery and outcomes more focused. The organisation has already undertaken to use its resources more creatively to ensure it can build its reserves and generate income from other sources, to develop a sustainable programme of training and development for PPGs and access funding to develop resources and tools to support our work. 13

15 Our Team (January 2017 December 2017) Trustees Sandra Jones Nicola Kingston Priscilla Baines Alison Angus Elaine Fogg Sharon Hudswell Gareth Julian Robert McConnell Staff & Volunteers Wai Ha Lam Cheryl Alfred Graham Barker Working Groups Chair Co Vice-Chair Co Vice-Chair Development Officer Communication & Operations Officer Volunteer Policy & Strategy Communications PPG Development Nicola Kingston Elaine Fogg Priscilla Baines Graham Barker Cheryl Alfred Graham Barker Malcolm Dean Frank Hatton Jane Collingridge Aideen Manson Sandra Jones Wai Ha Lam Robert McConnell Jenni Rodgers Christine McDonald Frank Purdy The Board wishes to thank the many members, patients and practice staff who give their time to support PPGs. Without their voluntary support and commitment our work and that of the PPGs would not have gathered the momentum it has in recent years, which has led to patients being a recognised and credible voice within primary healthcare provision in Lambeth. 14

16 Contact Us Ground Floor 336 Brixton Road London SW9 7AA Follow Follow us on Facebook Find us of Instagram Charity number: Company number: (England & Wales) 15