Beacon Medical Patient Participation Group
Minutes of the meeting, Wednesday, 5th. April, 2017 at 12.30pm
In Attendance
John Revill,( Chair), Helen Bembrick, Janet Crawford, Anne Dale, Elaine Flower, Sanjay Gupta, Bernard Henry, Janet Manson, Jo Morton, David Thomas and John Williamson
Apologies for Absence & Welcome
Helen Seddon forwarded her apologies.
The Chair welcomed John W. as Observer. John W. introduced himself and outlined his interest in becoming a possible member of the PPG. He asked for clarification of his position as observer i.e. whether or not he could ask questions and submit points. On behalf of the PPG The Chair outlined the protocols adopted by the group re. the meeting's purpose in challenging as well as supporting the Beacon Medical without resorting to the airing of personal grievances.
John W. accepted this but made the point that his current evaluation of procedures etc. and questions arising as a result of his observations were bound to be based initially on his experience and contact with the practice to date.This was accepted.
AGM & Election of Offices
In the absence of further nominations for Officer role the proposal of John R. as Chair, Janet M. as Vice-Chair and David T. as Secretary with Janet M. as Assistant Secretary was carried..
Prior to other Agenda items Sanjay Gupta was invited by the Chair to address the group ~
He confirmed that Nicky Hull has left the practice.
Jo M. with support from Jenny MacDougall will cover the role of Practice Manager for the time being.
Sanjay made the point that the Practice has gone through difficult times with lots of changes. The staff as a team has moved forward positively and have hit The Quality Outcomes Framework points to maximum effect. Sanjay emphasised the need to adapt to changes by working together and he is optimistic that the PPG can be used in a constructive way to move the Beacon Medical Practice forward.
Responding to points raised Sanjay confirmed that there was no system in place to book non-urgent appointments in advance. Discussion re. the appointment system followed with Sanjay emphasising that reception staff do a good job re. signposting patients to appropriate professionals in as polite and positive manner as possible. Individual PPG members challenged this referring to their own circumstances and experiences.
Sanjay responded to points raised re. continuity of care which he is a strong advocate of but relayed to the group that on a practical as well as availability basis it was not always possible to see the doctor of choice. He confirmed that the practice is aware of concerns and is constantly looking for ways to improve the system.
Janet M. agreed that it was difficult to always see the same doctor and reminded the group of the problems of recruitment and retention. With regard to new GPs Sanjay reminded the PPG that Dr. Mahdi Ismail has already joined the team and when Dr. Bruning retires in May his patients will be either transferred to Dr. Ismail or shared across the board with other GPs.
Jo M. responded to a point raised on staff training by emphasising that this is an ongoing exercise with politeness, tact and patience being key factors for success. Helen B. again referred to the rudeness and negative approach of some patients which once again prompted the idea of recording calls to determine regular transgressors. It would seem that such a system would be too expensive to adopt.
Sanjay concluded this session by thanking the PPG members for the feedback and he was keen that Beacon Medical might use it in a positive way. At this stage he left the meeting.
Minutes of the PPG Meeting held on 1st. February, 2017
David confirmed that the letter of thanks has been posted to Ian Reekie.
With reference to the Docks Collaborative ( bottom of p. 2 ) Jo M. explained that following some "tweaking" a similar system is in the pipeline.
With regard to the Referral Management Company ( top of p.3 ) it was confirmed that Beacon Medical do not use the facility.
The second paragraph in this section referred to the Grimsby Telegraph article which published % rankings for GP surgeries. The legitimacy and source of these figures was questioned and Janet M. was charged with exploring this issue further.
The meeting of the Sub-Committee ( 2nd. point on p.3 ) is now to take place prior to the next meeting.
Helen B. reminded the group that since David's report on his Call Centre Observation there have been no further requests to undertake a similar exercise. Janet M. expressed an interest to do so and will make the necessary arrangements.
Under AOB on p.4 an error in the Minutes referred to the "Haverstoe Ward". This is to be corrected and The Minutes re-circulated. David to action.
Bernard and Elaine reported that The Good Neighbours Scheme is now up and running.
Within this part of the agenda a question was raised on the effectiveness of the electronic check-in service. Jo and Helen felt that the use of this facility was proving gradually more beneficial.
The Minutes were duly signed off by The Chair.
Feedback from The Practice
A new One Stop Shop system has been introduced re. Annual Reviews and the Management of Chronic Disease. Patients are to be called in during their birthday month. Clinics will be available at different times of the day to suit patients and the Beacon Medical team will the contact patients to enable the further development of this initiative. So far it is working well. The intent is to give better choice to patients.
The issue of communication between the hospitals and GP practices was raised. Jo M. informed the group that this was not wholly effective as Beacon Medical is not linked electronically to the hospital and information on patients is not always immediately accessible.
In the previous set of PPG Minutes there had been reference to One Medical and its programme of work and involvement with the Practice and the PPG. Jo M. reported that there was still no resolution to outstanding issues.
John R. requested details of the contract with Raven and strongly emphasised the importance of addressing the issues raised over a long period of time. He asked that as a matter of urgency Jo M. contact Matt Stinson in writing and request a formal reply to points raised. Jo M. to action this.
Update on 2016 ~ 2017 Action Plan
Members had been supplied with a colour coded current picture of progress prior to the meeting. David emphasised that this was purely from his own perspective. He pointed out the relevance of each colour with especial regard for the Red sections which in his estimation are still to be addressed. It was agreed that the team who originally presented the document should meet for further consultation.
PPG Awareness Week ~ 19th. ~ 24th. June 2017.
A draft timetable had been circulated prior to the meeting. This was only a guide and in the light of discussion timings for PPG members' involvement will be amended and re-circulated so that the various slots can be covered.
Helen B. suggested a possible focus for the week could be "Minor Ailments" and with this in mind posed the idea of inviting Karen Hiley to the next PPG meeting. Karen will present a background to the Minor Ailments Scheme and bring along leaflets for PPG members to share with patients during the PPG week.
Bernard H. also suggested that in conversations with patients it may prove possible to compile a list of patient contacts who can constitute a Virtual PPG.
Pre-meeting Walkabout of Premises
In Helen S's absence she had forwarded her observations for the group's interest. These were discussed and brought to the notice of the Beacon Medical team.
PPG Notice Board and Patients' Comments
Despite the bold statements being posted on the PPG Board and the colour of the Suggestion Box being changed to red making it more prominent, there were only 4 comments posted. Of these 3 were critical whilst the fourth one was very positive. Copies of the comments were distributed.
AOB
Elaine F. thanked those who had completed the Urgent Care Survey.
John R. distributed information on The Humber Coast & Vale Sustainability and Transformation Plan ( STP ) which included the date of a half day workshop on Thursday, 25th. May ( details within the document supplied ).
Elaine has also supplied the link for the STP as ~
which gives a summary of the STP and a further link to download a fuller document
John W. requested that the figures re. missed appointments be analysed and broken down further so as to indicate what % of these involved GPs, nurses etc. Helen B. to action this in readiness for the next meeting.
It was suggested that David update the Beacon Medical PPG Induction Pack. This will involve verification of information with the Beacon Medical team as well as contacting Ian Reekie to determine whether there have been additions/deletions/amendments to the main pack.
Date and time of next meeting
Wednesday 7th. June, 2017 at 12.30pm.
Please forward agenda items to David at least 7 days before the next meeting.
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