Patient Participation Group (PPG) Toolkit 2017 Our PPG doesn t solely rely on meetings to function as an effective PPG or improve practice-patient relationship. We put on events throughout the year to bring patients, practice staff and the local community together. This is what makes our PPG standout. Tollgate PPG Chair, Newham.
Why should I join a PPG? PPGs offer a way for patients and practice staff to talk to each other, to share experiences and ideas, and to work together to improve patient experience at the practice. Some PPGs also volunteer to carry out other activities such as health promotion events, acting as advocates to encourage other patients to take responsibility for their own health, setting up support groups, promoting practice services, sharing information and more. Practices have a contractual requirement to establish and maintain a patient participation group for the purposes of obtaining the views and feedback of patients about their services. I hardly ever use my Practice at the moment, but I know that in ten or twenty years I will need them and I want them to be the best Practice they can possibly be by then! That s why I volunteered to be the Chair of my PPG. - PPG Chair, Dr Krishnamurthy Surgery
You have the right to have your say! NHS Constitution pledges to put patients at heart of the NHS your voice matters Practices in Newham are contractually required to: Ensure that the PPG is representative of its registered patients Engage with the group regularly at meetings, encouraging patient participation Review any feedback about its services with the aim of agreeing with the group what improvements are to be made Make reasonable efforts to implement these improvements.
Understand why people participate. 1. Motivation: the reasons why someone wants to participate. This might be due to their values, desire for social interaction. 2. Trigger to start participating: this might be a change in life e.g. retirement, which gives them more time to participate, being upset or angry about something and wanting to make a change, or just being asked to participate. 3. Resources: a person s personal resources including things like time, money, health, and confidence can influence their decision about whether to participate. 4. Opportunities to participate: the opportunities for participation that the PPG offers is the easiest thing for the practice and the PPG to adapt and change. (Pathways through Participation research project)
Top Tips: PPG must do s Ensuring good quality discussions and impact A key reason why people participate is because they want to make a positive difference. They are willing to give their time and energy in order to create change. Once you have people signed up to your PPG, it s important to keep discussions moving, to ensure that members have opportunities to influence and make changes, and that their recommendations are put into action by the practice. Being clear on the aims of your PPG People are also often more likely to start volunteering if they ve got a clear idea of what the role involves, and how much time commitment it will be. Using an agenda and action plan Having a focused agenda and an action plan to track activities and impact are two suggestions for achieving good quality discussions and impact. Keeping discussion topics fresh Sometimes it can be hard to come up with ideas for new things to discuss at PPG meetings.
Dr Driver s PPG, Newham Dr Driver s PPG works closely with the practice to staff to create improvements for the practice and patients. Some of their achievements include: Making the practice and local pharmacists aware of difficulties some patients were having with prescriptions, which was leading to medicine wastage. A pharmacist and Practice staff attended a PPG meeting to discuss resulting in procedures being changed and improvement in patient feedback. Recommending and designing names badges for all staff describing their roles, as patients felt they did not know who was who or what their role was. Monitoring the use of the electronic check-in screen, finding out some patients do not use it because they do not feel confident, and addressing this by having PPG members present to help patients and featuring it on the front pages of our website. How does the PPG and Practice work together to achieve these changes? The PPG meets every two months with senior practice staff to be informed about developments in the practice and the wider NHS, to raise patient views they have identified through talking to patients and inviting comments, track progress, and see how they can support the work of the practice. Practice staff discuss PPG recommendations and comments in their Team meetings, and there is a dialogue between the PPG and the wider staff of the practice. Dr Driver s PPG members working together to bring about change where it matters most to patients Photo credit: Newham Recorder
Market Street PPG, Newham Market Street Participation Group was inspired by the events held by Tollgate PPG to organise and hold their own health awareness raising sessions. They have planned a programme of events for the year, to be held on National Health Weeks. So far they have held a Cancer Awareness and a Dementia Awareness event. The PPG set up a stall in the Practice Reception with leaflets and literature which was staffed by PPG members and by representatives from local charities and NHS organisations, which the PPG and Practice had reached out to for support, who could offer expert advice to patients. Market Street PPG and practice staff organise health awareness sessions Visitors to the surgery were all engaged. Most came to look at the leaflets and used the PPG s presence as an opportunity to ask questions and take literature whether for themselves or for friends/family they were concerned about. There were some really important conversations going on, and positive conversations about the PPG itself as well. The Chair of the PPG said that: Our event offered a relaxed, friendly and informal opportunity for patients to pick up information and have off-the-record chats in passing.
Increasing community ownership of health PPGs can also engage communities in new ways by supporting people to better manage their health and wellbeing. In Newham, residents are using the power of sport to bring people together. PPG members have got involved in walking football tournaments, boxing themed activity sessions and much more Beat the Street: In June and July 2016 the CCG part sponsored the Beat the Street challenge. GPs encouraged local people to get moving, improve their health, have fun and discover their local area by taking part. Nearly 500 people took part in the challenge as part of a GP practice team. Boxing themed activity sessions with Barry McGuigan Boxing Academy: The CCG teamed up with Barry McGuigan Boxing Academy to offer free non-contact boxing themed exercise sessions for over 40s across Newham to promote a healthier lifestyle.
Walking Football Tournament with Love Football In November 2016 the CCG sponsored an over-45s, mixed gender walking football tournament, targeting PPG members, as part of the Soccer 6 Love Football community event at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The tournament was part of a whole day of entertainment for local people to enjoy. In 2017, in partnership with other CCGs in East London we delivered a second tournament in Hackney Marsh that brought together patients from Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. I really enjoyed it. It was nice meeting other people, and meeting Gary Mabbutt. Ex Spurs and England player! There was a great camaraderie and atmosphere everyone wants to come back next year! Gavin, Newham Resident
Newham PPG Chairs Top Tips Challenge Examples of Good Practice Engaging young people in the PPG Custom House PPG had a young person contribute to their newsletter as part of their coursework. Engaging more people in the PPG Tollgate PPG is using informal events instead of formal meetings to engage with patients. PPG Members using meetings to raise their own personal experiences or issues instead of representing patients. Getting GPs to understand the value of their PPG and to actively engage with the PPG and involve them in planning and decision making. Getting a PPG running effectively takes a lot of time, commitment, and effort from volunteers and requires the presence of active individuals who are willing and able to give their time. It would be good to send minutes of PPG meetings to all patients registered at the practice to keep them informed of what their PPG is doing on their behalf and to raise awareness but it would be very resource intensive. Vicarage Lane PPG has a code of conduct on the door of the meeting room Dr Driver PPG involved in selecting the telephone provider Essex Lodge PPG working with Practice to design the expansion. Market Street and Tollgate GPs are engaged closely with their PPG. First 4 Health and Custom House PPG take different approaches to providing dedicated staff support to their PPGs. Tollgate PPG has a number of volunteers with experience in community activism, and has also applied successfully for grant funding Suggestions from PPGs included: Sending minutes via email Putting them up on a notice board Putting them up on the practice website.
State of PPGs in Newham 30 out of 52 PPGs meet quarterly 28 out of 52 PPGs have a patient Chair The majority of PPG promotion is done through advertising in the reception area The most common number of members for a PPG to have is between 6 and 10. Most practices described having a core group of members who could be expected to attend the majority of meetings plus additional patients who attend less regularly. Most practices described their PPG as generally representative in terms of ethnicity, although some did highlight challenges in regards to language barriers. All practices/ppgs struggled with getting younger people involved. The majority of Practices report at least one example of changes made as a result of PPG engagement. 6 PPGs seem to be well established with a strong partnership with the practice, good systems, and examples of innovative practice. 11 Practices said they took the minutes at PPG meetings. Some indicated that a PPG member took the minutes. 13 practices reported that GPs attended PPG meetings, and 10 that the Practice Manager attends. 2 stated that the whole practice team attends. 11 practices described organising the meeting. Some tasks which were highlighted include organising the room, providing refreshments, sending out invitations.
I hardly ever use my Practice at the moment, but I know that in ten or twenty years I will need them and I want them to be the best Practice they can possibly be by then! That s why I volunteered as Chair of my PPG. PPG Chair, Dr Krishnamurthy Surgery We have committed and proactive PPG members. They get involved in CCG consultation work and give honest feedback. Our PPG chair, former chair of Healthwatch Newham, is very knowledgeable about engagement and public health, which makes our relationship with members much easier. PPG Member, Vicarage Lane Practice