History

The inaugural meeting of the John Kelso Practice Patients Forum was held on 31 October 2007, the forerunner of today’s Patient Participation Group (PPG). Following the amalgamation of  two Practices on site, the first joint meeting of the John Kelso PPG and the Stockwell PPG took place on 22 May 2012 when it became known as the Park Medical PPG.

Now, as part of the National Health Service Contract all GP Practices are required to have Patient Participation Groups.

Who are we?

We are two groups of volunteers. The PPG meet once every two months. We also have an associate or virtual PPG (VPPG) who use the computer to communicate ideas and give opinions. Membership is open and free to all patients or carers of patients.

All are welcome

All, who feel they can make a contribution, are very welcome. We need new members including younger members and carers of patients.

What do we do?

Our objectives are to work in partnership with the Practice to help patients take more responsibility for their health, contribute to the improvement of patient services and quality of care, improve communication between practice and patients and give practical support to the Practice and help implement change.

So, how do we do it?

We aim to work individually, or in small groups, with clinicians where appropriate, to a flexible action plan.

During 2018 we have had PPG members to lead health promotions on National Walking Month when we prepared a Walking for Health leaflet, National Carers Week, Bowel and Stomach Complaints, COPD, Hearing Loss, Domestic Violence and Falls Prevention.

Areas for future consideration are: National No Smoking Day, Parkinsons Awareness Week, National Walking Week, National Arthritis Week and Domestic Violence.

We meet with the other practices in town. Jointly we have written to the Clinical Commissioning Group objecting to their decisions to cut local funding for phlebotomy and hearing aids.

We lobbied the Secretary of State for Health over the threatened closure of beds and services at Leek Moorlands Hospital.

We talk to patients, seek opinions and discuss any concerns with the Practice. We have good liaison with the Practice which is a strong two way relationship.

We welcome practical ideas on how to improve patient care.

New active committee members are always welcome, as are members of the VPPG, through which busy people of all ages can receive information and express their views by email or by post. You can be an active PPG Committee member or join us as a Virtual PPG member by emailing us at ppg4pmc@gmail.com, or by asking for a leaflet and VPPG registration form at reception, or by downloading an application form

Please remember that the PPG cannot deal with complaints as the practice has a full and proper complaints procedure for this.

To see a more detailed report of how our PPG is made up and the things that we have been doing over this last year, look at our PPG Report for 2019.

There are of course people who will not be reading this because they do not have a computer and we will of course make every effort to ensure they are not disenfranchised by having posters, leaflets and Application Forms in Reception.

Do you have ideas about how to improve local health services? Want to stay informed and get involved with local health care development? The North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group maintains regular contact with its members through newsletters and consults them on a variety of issues. There is no time commitment required and you can opt to only receive information on thing that interest you most. If you would like to become a member of the North Staffordshire CCG Patient Membership Scheme, follow this link to register.

National Association for Patient Participation (NAPP)

We are affiliated to NAPP and follow the the principles and objectives laid down by them.

Some of the things we have been involved in:

• We have designed patient surveys on behalf of the practice and helped with the collation of the data
• We maintain the waiting room notice boards on a basis of a monthly theme.
• We are active members of the Locality Group which represents the practices in this area and together we aim to improve services provided.
• We attend NAPP Conferences and local meetings.
• At the request of Patients we have devised and provided a purse/pocket sized yellow card which provides you many useful numbers.
• We assist the practice by maintaining this website.

If you are interested in learning more, please do not hesitate to contact the PPG chair person and we will do our best to answer any queries.