Lonsdale Medical Centre

Patient Participation Group (PPG): Minutes of Meeting held on Wednesday, 18/12/2013 at 5pm.

Attendees:

Patients

Anthony Kleanthous

Jill Mortimer

Julie Winter

Keith Anderson

Practice

Martin Chernick, Practice Manager (chair)

Nicholas Driessens, Practice Services Manager

Theresa Hayter, Reception Manager

Rosalind John, Community Outreach Liaison Officer, Kilburn Primary Care Co-Operative (KPCC)

Apologies

Dr Nicola Hall

Kirsty Scott

Non-attendees with Expression of Interest

1 | Page

Lonsdale Medical Centre

Robin Sharp

Anne Sharp

Sivan Subiah

Ruth Kitching

Stuart Mullin

James McNeil

Hugh Lawson

Michael Napper

Carolyn Regan

Claire Townsend

Nicholas Gee

Sharon St Louis

Stephen Chamberlain

Christina Papatheodorou

Helen Carter

Alla Murphey

Arthur McCoy

1 | Page

Lonsdale Medical Centre

Apology

As a result of the demise of the PCTs the Email addresses of the original group of PPG members has been deleted along with the original group Email address. I have copied in those individuals with whom I have had some electric communication through my NHS Email address. I am most sorry for this and hope we can build up the numbers again.

Should any of those listed in this document be aware of any other interested patients please ask them to register an interest through our new website.

Agenda (a copy of the charts used is attached)

Welcome and Introduction

  • some ground rules

The following list was briefly discussed and generally agreed – future meetings will be able to suggest changes

We advocate open and honest communication between individuals.

The PPG is not a forum for individual complaints, airing individual grievances or single issues

Only one person to speak at a time

We will be flexible, listen, ask for help and support each other

We will demonstrate a commitment to delivering results as a group

Silence indicates agreement - speak up but always through your chair

All views are valid and will be listened to

No phones or other disruptions

We will start and finish on time and stick to the agenda

In any reports or discussions after the meeting, people’s initials, not full names will be used when personal things have been discussed

Be polite – don’t be rude to each other. If you disagree about something concentrate on the thing you are talking about not the person involved

Stay focused on the debate issues, problems and solutions, not people

Last Patient Survey (March 2012 – posted on website)

  • what’s been done

New Telephone System – will allow greater flexibility and in future may be record calls for staff training

New Clinical System – already speeding up doctor / patient consultations and offering new facilities

  • Online appointment bookings trial
  • Electronic prescriptions to pharmacist of choice has been enabled
  • Cancellations by Online Access

New PCs – including a replacement server. Already enabling additional facilities

Additional 50 GP appointments available each week in the afternoons (correction to chart used)

  • what’s in plan

Increase in the use of computers and internet throughout the NHS

Tim Kelsey, NHS Commissioning Board's first National Director of Patients and Information, said: ‘ … pushing for a commitment to make the NHS paperless by the end of 2015’. Lonsdale has already started

Patient records using GP2GP (NHS hasn’t made it work yet)

Patient Messaging via Online Access

Pre-registration Online

Reduction in No-Shows (DNAs) [10% of all booked appointments wasted]

Increase in minor ‘hospital’ procedures done in the practice / sharing resources in Kilburn

  • Pre-Survey Questionnaire

Both the practice and Kilburn Locality are planning patient surveys of a representative group of patients in January and invitees and attendees were asked to complete a short questionnaire, to identify key areas of interest / concern; which is attached together with results.

KA advised that clear definitions of terms used in a questionnaire need to be given to avoid confusion by participants and hence invalidate results.

A draft patient questionnaire will be circulated to the attendees and interested patients.

Survey Monkey to be considered for greater accessibility

The following are topics raised in discussion (and by Email contact from those unable to attend the meeting) as areas for further attention and consideration by the PPG and the practice.

  1. Problems with the current appointment booking systems
  2. Typically can’t get to see a doctor quickly – sometimes 3+ weeks

ND posed the issue, that with finite resource a balance had to be struck between same day and future appointments – what would the majority want? Resource added to one area has to be taken from another.

  1. It seems OK if a doctor is late – sometimes very late – yet patients are treated differently even though their own jobs may be very important
  2. You have to come in twice to book a same day (Open Access) appointment even if you a really ill, have young children or at work and even in the freezing cold. It takes up the best part of half a day – why can’t appointment be booked on the phone (you can’t get through in any case) or on-line?
  1. Attitude of the reception staff
  2. Rude
  3. Lose their patience
  4. Do not take personal responsibility
  5. Forgetful – don’t do what they say they will
  6. Lose scripts / letters etc
  7. Do not practice warmth, care and responsiveness
  8. This has been going on for years

MC said that it’s important to let him or one of his managers know at the time, so that they can take action – general comments like this and on NHS Choices are unhelpful when we really want to get things right – must be able to take action – we have CCTV installed so can use as a training vehicle if specific instances can be described.

  1. Request to state why you need to see a doctor in full hearing of the waiting room. (raised by non-attendee)

MC response: the partners have asked for this ‘non-clinical’ indication of why a doctor needs to be seen so that they can be prepared when the patient enters their consulting room and it enables staff to direct patients to the most appropriate person: a pharmacist, nurse or phlebotomist or a particular doctor.

  1. More appointments and services are needed

MC response: the funding from the NHS is finite: if we add more – what should we take away?

  1. Skype consultations may save time, Saturday clinics, results by text / SMS – would help release the phone lines
  1. Additional services and lifestyle help (e.g. physiotherapy and osteopathy)

Future Communications and Meetings

A further meeting of the practice group will be held in the New Year to consider the result of the practice survey.

Jill Mortimer agreed to chair the next meeting (only). It was suggested that the chair could rotate between willing attendees.

It was agreed that communication would be by Email, noticeboard (we have one waiting a handyman to put up) and ND suggested that the practice sets up a practice Facebook account that everyone wanting to could attach to and share documents and information. It is inevitable that increasing communications will be electronic but meeting wanted to ensure that significant groups would not be excluded: elderly, foreign patients, those with limited means and no personal access to a computer.

Best wishes for the festive season

Martin Chernick

PRE-SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS: Based on 4 responders

We are planning our next annual survey and would like to know what you think should be our key priorities when it comes to looking at the services we provide to you and others in the practice.

What do you think are the most important issues on which we should consult our patients? For example, which of the following do you think we should focus on for the survey?

The results from the pre-survey will be used to inform a larger questionnaire for the wider patient population.

Please share out a maximum 20 points amongst the 5 topics below with the largest number going against your top choice and the smallest to your lowest choice. You can, if you wish score up to 20 for one topic and zero for all others.

Score
Clinical care / 12.5%
Access to appointments and services / 43.8%
Communication with patients / 10.0%
Helping patients better understand local services & resources e.g. out of hours / 12.5%
Reception / Administration issues / 21.3%

MC Comments

‘Access to appointments and service’s is clearly the number one issue and ‘reception / admin issues’ is in clear second place. The two between them accounting almost 2/3 of the points allocated.

I think all five areas are important, but this simplistic pre-survey questionnaire, has highlighted the two areas my management team and I would have chosen as of most interest to a broad patient population.

We will ensure we include relevant questions in our larger survey to tease out the real issues and pose some harsh choices that may be needed: both by the practice and our patients. After all, only 8% of NHS spending is used to fund General Practice and the money available is decreasing in real terms: so what do we sacrifice if we increase access? Or can we find the magic formula of doing more with less for an aging population? With your help we have to try.

1 | Page