A group of volunteer patients, carers and surgery staff who meet regularly to discuss and support the running of the surgery.
Patient Participation Groups look at the services offered, patient experience and how improvements can be made for the benefit of everyone.
Each Patient Participation Group is different, but they all have the aim of making sure that the surgery puts the patient, and improving health, at the heart of everything it does.
Next meeting
The date of the next Patient Participation Group meetings are:
- Wednesday 26th March 2025
All at 6:30pm in the health education room, CMK Medical Centre.
Join our Patient Participation Group
New members are welcome, the only requirement is that you are a patient of the practice and have an interest in helping the practice improve the services provided to patients.
To join:
- fill out a join our Patient Participation Group form
- phone us on 01908 605775
Newsletter – December 2024
Meeting Minutes
- Notes of CMK Medical Centre PPG held on Wednesday 11th September 2024 @ 18:30.
- Those present: Yvette Baker (Practice Manager) Colin Levett (Chair) Lesley Franklin (note-taker) Bob Strudwick Janet Mulley Selina King Donna Stapleton Theresa Keeve Clive McMellon Andrea Dokhan, Anne Jones, Mandy Robinson, June Halstead, Brian Halstead, John O’Mahoney, John Mountford
- New member: Donna Stapleton. Reasons: dislikes the booking system and is concerned that the useful 1st
- carers coffee morning has not been repeated (see GP update)
- Guests: Theresa Keeve, chair of Ashfield PPG and Clive McMellon, registered at Ashfield. Reason – to
- learn more about the point of PPGs and how to encourage more members
- Previous meeting notes Agreed
- Matters arising from the notes
- Nobody has declined email sharing
- Yvette’s meeting with SystemOnline – appointments: Discussed not being able to make future
appointments. See GP update - Healthwatch summary form: Self-assessment form sent out to all members of PPG to complete and send
to Paul from Healthwatch.
General Practice Update (Yvette)
21,521 patients
DNAs – 2 main issues – patients changing phone numbers and not informing practice or triage replies going
to an old number when new number has been given.
Appointments – 500 per day across all HCPs. Mondays busy. Use of online triage has increased.
Practice is looking at trialling booking ahead when appointment is not urgent.
Considering opening on-line for longer.
Cancellations are given to people ‘phoning in
Q. Why can’t booking be re-opened in the afternoon? A. Experience shows there would be the same rush
at 1.30pm as there is at 8am. Not desirable as less staff then.
Q. Will increase in practice income affect patients? A. Prescribing incentive payment must be used for
benefit of patients e.g. equipment, facilities. The Practice is unable to employ any further staff as all rooms
are allocated and in use. The practice has contracted a company, Interface who are doing remote reviews
to help them with their targets so that we they more appointments in the surgery available.
Phone calls – a report has to go to the ICB as part of the GP contract requirement to become a ‘modern
practice’. Monitoring is 24/7 which seems unfair as phones are not answered 24/7.
GP Strike – Healthwatch gave suggestions for ‘collective action’. please see attached
Quite a lot of practices not striking, including CMK MC.
Friends and Family Results – please see attached. 73% negative comments – why and what? Yvette has
asked for breakdown of results, not yet received. Complicated by there being two sets of results – one for
CMK and one for CMKMC. Note: There is a box in reception for F and F forms if preferred to online
submission
Carers coffee morning – planned to continue but lead staff member/ organiser, Saskia, is leaving. Practice
aims to find someone to take over. Donna misses it and feels isolated. Suggestion made to arrange to meet
elsewhere but opinions of the benefits of it being onsite were expressed.
New website – website will be replaced so all look similar across MK but practices will be able to edit it
themselves e.g. if the phone lines go down
Visit from Integrated Care Board (ICB) is planned, but will not be until next year.
Healthwatch MK GP Survey
Healthwatch survey – only 3.8% of patients responded. Main issues:
· Improving access and flexibility
· Making future appointments easier
· Improving triage and use of other health
professionals
· Enhancing care, support, and patient
wellbeing
· Addressing accessibility needs
· Ensuring annual and routine health checks
happen
· Managing and communicating waiting lists
Multiple linked health issues Raised by Donna Stapleton. Q. Why can’t one raise more than one issue in
an appointment as they may be linked? A. Yvette: has to be only one as appointment length is 10 minutes,
however individual GPs deal with this in different ways.
Q. Could patients book a double appointment for more than one problem? A. most are required for
translation service
Self-Referral
Are they all free? Yes
Q. Is this the complete list of what is available? A. This currently the complete list.
· Smoking cessation, provides support with stopping smoking but does not provide vapes (can also
be referred by reception team).
·
· Midwives, all antenatal care is provided by the midwives not the GP surgery.
·
· Talking therapies provides support with mental health.
·
· ARC (Addiction Recovery Community), provides support with alcohol and drug abuse.
·
· Audiology, provides support for hearing issues for over 16
·
· Connect Physio (Over 16s)- self referral for physiotherapy.
·
· Community Urgent Eyecare Service- provides urgent assessment, and treatment for sudden onset
eye problems such as flashes, floaters, vision loss or minor eye injuries.
·
· ICash (Sexual Health clinic)- offer a range of sexual health services from testing to contraception.
·
· Adult Social Care Access Team- Milton Keynes Council that offer support with care.
·
· Carers MK- Carers MK supports unpaid carers and young carers in Milton Keynes aged 8 – 98+,
providing advice, information, emotional support, workshops and training.
·
· BPAS (pregnancy termination services)
Newsletter
1
st issue has been sent to PPG members. Recommended ways to distribute it as discussed at the Practice
Manager Forum are: Add to website and send link to patients’ mobile numbers, display in waiting room, add
to Facebook page, post to the over 80s and send to pharmacies for inclusion with prescriptions. Awaiting
permissions from data protection officer.
Ideas for 2nd edition: Flu and RSV vaccines. Shingles vaccine (i.e. now two doses but no need to boost if
had single one in the past) Inform about where there are ‘warm spaces’, Information about annual
prescription payment option.
Action (all): Please send any comments on 1st edition and ideas for 2nd to Colin
Any Other Business
Q. Will the new website will have area for PPG. A. Yes.
Q. Do you use social prescribing? A. Yes, patients are signposted. Bob added that Age UK has social
prescribers.
Donna raised issue of appointments needed for a follow-up blood test. Patients can go straight to reception
if told blood test needed in e.g. 4 weeks. Will need to send triage request form if longer e.g. annual one
due. There is no automatic appointment booking system.
Clive suggested that regarding need to meet vaccine targets, ’you need to get out there’. Yvette confirmed
members of practice attend mosques and community cafes.
Date of next meeting: 20th November.
LF October 2024
Notes of CMK Medical Centre PPG held on Wednesday 20th November 2024
Those present:
| Yvette Baker (Practice Manager | Colin Levett (Chair) | Lesley Franklin (note-taker) |
| Bob Strudwick | Brian Halstead | June Halstead |
| John Mountford | John O’Mahoney | |
| Terry Cross | Janet Mulley | |
| Guest: Paul O’Grady, Healthwatch |
Apologies
Anne Jones, Selina King, Donna Stapleton, Andrea Dokhan, Keith Hutchinson (also resigned from PPG)
Previous meeting notes
Comments from Yvette:
Healthwatch GP survey – 73% negative comments – why and what? This percentage refers to the whole of MK. Yvette has asked for breakdown of results. Complication by there being two sets of results – one for CMK and one for CMKMC. Yvette now has a copy of results specific to CMK MC. Action:Yvette to analyse
Double appointments can be booked (are mostly used for translators)
If told blood test needed in e.g. 4 weeks. Will need to phone reception if longer e.g. annual one due. There is no automatic appointment booking system.
We have a system where the GP informs the team of what they want from the blood test e.g book an appointment to discuss and the team will contact the patient for this. Some GPs will also text as well.
If a GP wants the patient to book another appointment with them the GP, then the patient needs to complete a triage at the time when they need this review or phone the surgery.
Nurse clinics are on approx. 6 – 8 weeks in advance. If the patient is asked to book a blood test further in advance they need to contact us nearer the time. All annual or monitoring bloods patients are sent a text to book or will be phoned
Matters arising from the notes none that are not on the agenda
Healthwatch MK Toolkit Update
Paul explained the toolkit which should be taken as a reference guide for PPGs. Factors to consider are members’ roles and how to encourage younger people to join.
It was agreed that a one-page summary would be useful for new people.
Action: Paul to summarise.
Paul asked what resources are required (possible funding available)
Action: All to send ideas to Colin to give Paul.
John M asked if all PPG chairs are or could be on one email address. Not resolved.
Colin informed the group he has become a Trustee for Healthwatch
7 Areas of concern from Healthwatch survey:
Improving access and flexibility: Online appointment triage facility now open till 12. Admin open longer. Telephone enquiries and walk-ins also possible. ‘Sit and wait’ tried before-unsuccessful. A lot of surgeries have moved to 15 minute appointments, therefore fewer available, in line with safer working for GPs. They are not an endless resource.
Making future appointments easier: More future appointments have been opened up – booking within two weeks possible via triage.
GPs are being discouraged from booking follow-up appointments which may not be needed.
Improving triage and use of other health professionals: New minor illness nurse starting this month
Enhancing care, support, and patient wellbeing: Practice is scoring highly on QOF so clearly performing well.
Addressing accessibility needs: Practice ok on this – uses interpreters, ‘flags’ on wall, autism training attended
Ensuring annual and routine health checks happen: ‘Interface’ company is employed to check practice prevalence is in line with national prevalence data and check coding (if not coded correctly, patient may not receive checks due)
Managing and communicating waiting lists: 7K referrals were made in the last 12 months so how would the practice manage and communicate waiting lists? Hospital waiting times can be viewed on hospital websites eg https://waitingtimes.mkuh.nhs.uk/
Post-meeting update from Yvette: Referrals – if patients request to be referred to another area, we will always try to do that for them but they need to tell us where, they are often warned that it may be rejected and that would then put them back at the bottom of the local waiting list. Area’s may refuse if they want to keep their appointments for their own locality and not take other areas. It is down to the patient to suggest an area and of course many may not realise this. I will speak to the GP’s at our next meeting.
Flu and Covid jabs
Discussed. Flu jabs are available earlier at other venues while having the Covid jab. Patients therefore take up this offer, meaning the practice miss out on payments. It also makes knowing how many vaccines to order difficult with the potential for wastage. Yvette informed the group that the pracitce is not allowed to give flu jabs earlier than October. They will not be paid.
Self-referrals – for chiropody/podiatry
Only available for people with diabetes.
One member recommended MK Feet Podiatry Clinic,Shenley Church End (not NHS)
General Practice Update (Yvette)
21,410 patients. New patients up by 6%
New website is up and riunning
Some GPs are going to reduce working hours because of tax levels.
Salary bill huge. 40% on-costs on top. NI payments have increased
ICB not in good financial position so no increase in funding
ICB due to visit in January
Friends and Family results
See attached
More responses – 973 (868 previous month).’V Good’ reduced, ‘good’ increased, ‘poor’, ‘very poor’ and ‘don’t know’ the same.
DNAs increased-maybe because of difficulties experienced cancelling appointments.
Q raised: ‘what is the ratio of face to face appointments to telephone appointments?’
A 50/50
Newsletter
2nd issue in development. Action: Suggestions to Colin
Primary Care Webinars and Change NHS website
Primary Care webinars (monthly) – https://www.youtube.com/live/LqwBb3E_XrU
Tell the NHS how it needs to change –https://change.nhs.uk
AOB
Couple of questions from John M:
Q. How do people book flu jabs?
A. Use the link in the invite or call reception.
Q. How does hospital admin know when a GP has left the practice as letters often go to the wrong doctor?
A. There is no current system in place for this. Practice admin aim to direct hospital letters to the correct doctor (ie regular doctor or whoever made the referral)
Lesley requested that if an appointment is initiatied by the practice (ie unexpected) the text message should state the reason to avoid having to phone up, blocking the line, to find out..
A query of a personal nature was raised within the meeting. Yvette will investigate and respond as appropriate as these meetings are not the place for personal issues.
Brian raised a query on facility to cancel an appointmnet. Post-meeting, Yvette has stated: ‘It is option 3 on the main telephone menu. I tested it today and the team picked up my voicemail quickly’.
Date of next meeting: 15th January 2025, 6.30 – 8pm