Patient Participation Group

Meeting Date: Tuesday, 9th December 2025

Introductions and Apologies

Members welcomed. Apologies received

Acceptance of Minutes

Matters Arising

• Item 3 – Pharmacy First will be promoted and incorporated into the redesign of the PPG Notice board in the waiting room.
• Item 4 – Reducing attendance to the DSS sessions please refer to item 5.
• Item 5 – PPG promotion – Refer to item 6

Annual Election

It is the policy of the PPG to hold annual elections for the roles of Chair and Secretary. The objective being to ensure the PPG stays fresh and open to new ideas and provide an opportunity for the members to change the leadership.

Any member can stand and should there be more that one candidate for a role, a simple vote of the members will be taken.

The Secretary leads the process.

The existing Chair and Secretary were re-elected. The Chair expressed his gratitude to the Secretary, to the Practice Manager and to member for their continued support.

Digital Services Support Update

• Since June 2024 18 sessions have been conducted, training over 60 patients.
• There are 12 trainers, with 5 being active and 2 new members recently onboarded.
• A decline in attendance has been noted, though interest remains high. The drop-off is attributed to technical difficulties patients face when setting up their phones prior to the training.
• A separate DSS technical setup courses have been initiated. To address the attendance fall off and two have been run so far.
• The consensus is to run both the DSS application training (for the NHS app) and the technical setup sessions concurrently on the last Tuesday of each month.
• Only 3-4 trainers are comfortable providing technical setup assistance.
• A handout from the NHS website is provided to patients during the technical setup to guide them, ensuring transparency and adherence to guidelines while avoiding GDPR breaches. The process involves guiding patients without physically handling their devices.
• A DSS technical setup session may be run over the Christmas period if there is interest.

PPG Membership

• The current group is not fully representative of the wider patient community.
• Efforts to attract new members, including encouraging existing members to invite friends/relations and using a dedicated notice board in reception, have had limited success 
• so far.
• A poster campaign has been initiated, which has already yielded one new prospective member, and an introduction meeting arranged.
• A discussion was initiated regarding the future of the PPG, with members asked to consider its purpose and objectives for 2026.
• The primary focus for 2026 will be to increase and refresh membership, seeking wider representation.
• Future meeting formats are open for discussion, including changing the type of meeting, returning to face-to-face meetings, or adopting a hybrid model (part face-to-face, part Zoom).

Practice Report

• Staffing: The clinical team is reported to be stable, particularly regarding GPs, following a period of staff returning from maternity leave. Newer GPs are now well-established, having been in 
• post for one year. The non-clinical team (reception and admin) has recently experienced periods of significant understaffing due to a combination of annual leave, sickness, and personal circumstances. A new team member will commence training in January, which is expected to improve staffing levels. The team culture within reception and admin is described as good and collaborative, particularly under pressure.
• Demand and Access: The practice is experiencing a peak in patient demand, which is disproportionate to the available appointment capacity. Efforts are ongoing to promote the Pharmacy First scheme. However, it was noted that insistent patients often override recommendations to attend a pharmacy and request a GP appointment directly.
• Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) Funding: The practice received additional funding for ARIs for the period from the start of November to the end of January. This funding has facilitated the provision of approximately 200 additional GP appointments.
• Vaccination Uptake (Flu & COVID): Statistics for the last 3 months were reviewed, comparing the practice's uptake rates with regional and PCN averages. For the 2-3 year-old cohort, the practice uptake is 53%, compared to the Southwest average of 40%.For the at-risk 18-64 year old cohort, the practice uptake is slightly above the Southwest average, with most PCN practices around the 40% mark. For the over 65s, the practice uptake is slightly below the Southwest average of 70%.
• Pharmacy First Scheme: Data for the PCN was reviewed. The types of conditions referred to pharmacists include a wide range of ailments. The practice's telephone system message already informs patients they may be directed to a pharmacist, but it is difficult to challenge patients who state they have already attended a pharmacy without success.
• Did Not Attend (DNA) Rates: DNA figures for the year were presented. On average per month, this includes 20 blood test appointments, 14 face-to-face GP appointments, and a total of 69 appointments across all clinical areas.
• Continuity of Care Project: A project, led by a trainee GP, is underway to analyse and improve continuity of care. The project is focused on developing a method to accurately measure continuity by comparing patients' most frequently seen GP against their named GP. The aim to cleanse data to establish a baseline for future monitoring.
• Practice Premises: Improvements to the practice building have been completed, including the installation of new boilers and windows. December is the first month the practice will experience the full benefit of improved insulation and heating efficiency, enhancing comfort for both staff and patients.
• Proxy Access for NHS App: A query was raised regarding the process for obtaining proxy access to the NHS app, which allows a user to manage the health needs of another person (e.g., child, parent).It was noted that the application process was electronic-only, which presents a barrier for patients who are not technologically competent, particularly as it requires uploading identification documents. The practice previously had paper forms for all processes before they were moved online.

Any Other Business?

• Annually permission to circulate members details is agreed o facilitate open dialogue within the group.

Next Meeting

• The next meeting will be held on 10 March 2026 at 5.30 p.m. on Zoom.
• Dates for 2026 are 9th June, 15h September and 8th December.