Dr Pathak’s Surgery
PPG Report
March 2015
Appendix:
1) Practice Population (Establish and maintain a PPG- component 1)
2) Patient Participation Governors
3) Cause For concerns
4) Patient cause for concerns
5) PPG agendas
6) Minutes Summary
7) Meeting outcomes
Dr Pathak’s Patient Participation Group
Report
To Date March 2015
Dear Patient,
You may be aware that over the last 3 years we sought to set up a patient participation group. You as patients are able to come into the surgery and express ideas and views that you may have about the service that we offer to you as a practice. Your ideas are vital to us as we then are able to assess how we can make improvements to the service that we offer. Ideas and opinions are vital to help us understand what you, as patients want from the service we provide and if any improvements need to be made, what ideas you have.
The needs and demands of the service are forever increasing due to the increase of the practice list. Needs and demands of individual patients can vary depending on age, sex, employability status as well as religious status. The PPG is advertised to attract a wide audience so all of their opinions and ideas are put across to the team so that the service can improve to meet their needs. Each idea is discussed thoroughly with the patients to whether it can be achievable and if so how soon it can be implemented.
All ideas that have been bought forward from the patients have been implemented and have proven to be very beneficial to the service. The feedback that we have had from patients has been positive since the changes have been made which is a key aspect to the surgery’s success.
1) Posters and leaflets were designed and distributed around the surgery to help promote interest in visible areas such as doctor’s rooms, waiting areas as well as the PPG wall.
2) Individual letters were sent to patients who have attended previous meetings inviting them to attend.
3) Text messages were sent to all patients who have consented to use the text message service, the texts were sent out the evening before the meetings.
4) Staff members verbally invited patients who came into the surgery.
5) New patients were also invited to attend the PPG meetings by text messaging and letters.
After following these steps of advertising we do have a lot of interest in the PPG group, however the number of attendees to vary each meeting as they may have other commitments. We do advise patients if they have any suggestions to leave a comment in the suggestion box on the reception desk that will be acknowledged.
Dr Pathak March 2015 –Population Breakdown
Age sex breakdown
Patient Total March 2014
Number of registered patients; 2526
Patient Total March 2015:
Number of registered patients; 2548
Ethnicity breakdown 2014
Ethnicity / Patient CountIndian / 1097
Unknown / 432
African/Carribean / 215
British or mixed British / 200
Pakistani / 153
Asian - ethnic group / 117
Other White background / 106
Polish / 63
Other / 45
Bangladeshi / 21
Kurdish / 12
Slovak / 12
Other Black background / 10
Other Asian or Asian unspecified / 10
Baltic Estonian/Latvian/Lithuanian / 7
Nepali / 5
Punjabi / 4
Vietnamese / 4
Iranian (NMO) / 3
Other Asian (NMO) / 2
Irish / 2
Czech / 2
Arab / 1
Moroccan / 1
Albanian / 1
Romanian / 1
Ethnicity Breakdown 2015
Ethnicity / Patient CountIndian / 1143
Unknown / 387
African/Carribean / 239
British or mixed British / 202
Pakistani / 160
Asian - ethnic group / 130
Other White background / 105
Polish / 60
Other / 46
Bangladeshi / 24
Kurdish / 10
Slovak / 5
Other Black background / 15
Baltic Estonian/Latvian/Lithuanian / 6
Nepali / 4
Vietnamese / 2
Iranian (NMO) / 3
Czech / 2
Arab / 1
Albanian / 3
Romanian / 6
Patient comments and survey results
Regular comments and suggestions are discussed at each PPG meeting, some new and some recurrent. Patients who do attend the meetings on a regular basis have a better understand of what measures have or are being introduced to the surgery to help improve the service. Due to the recent launch of system one online, patients are able to leave feedback about the surgery and any concerns that they have, We have found this to be very beneficial as most of these patients do not attend the PPG meetings due to other commitments. If any issued are raised then we are able to print off those comments which can be discussed and introduced as a new problem at the PPG meetings.
Examples from website of problems as well as feedback
PPG GOVERNORS
PPG Lead:
Mrs Aruna Bhatt
PPG Deputy:
Mrs Maud Robinson
Mrs Bhatt and Mrs Robinson have volunteered to lead the PPG group as they are patients at the surgery and understand how the service is managed. They are here to listen to your thoughts and will address them in the next PPG meeting if you are unable to attend. Please leave suggestions or letters at reception if you have any views in how to make the surgery better, or please ask at reception for the details of the next PPG meeting.
PPG regular
Cause for concerns:
- DNA GP appointments and Hospital appointments
(Patients to be made aware of the costs of DNA’s. Also how the rise of the demand is not being met due to the high number of DNA’s.)
- Opening times
(Opening times over the holidays, give information about the different types of services that are available when surgery is closed)
- Telephone Lines
(Telephone lines are now open all day to give patients the access to talk to reception staff if they wish to make to cancel an appointment)
- Other Services
(OOH service, walk in centre, A&E EMERGENCY ONLY!, Minor ailment service)
- New Doctors
(Locum doctors and new doctors that have joined the surgery over the last 3 months)
- Appointments
(Waiting times for appointments and the availability of appointments at the surgery)
Patient Concerns
- No appointments available
- One week wait or longer for appointment
- Telephone lines busy
- A&E
- DNA’s
- Late Night Surgery
- Suggestion box
- Text Messaging Services
- Prescription delays
- Blood/ urine results
- Posters/ displays in different languages to suit every demographic
- Multi-lingual staff members
- Medication requests/ home remedies
- Administration letters
- New Doctors
- Locum Doctors
- Opening Times
- Walk in Centres
These are some of the main concerns that have been raised by the patients which have been discussed regularly. Each suggestion has been improved for the patients benefit as the regular PPG attendees will agree.
Patient Concerns
Problem:
No Appointments Available
Discussion:
The demand to see the doctor is very high and is forever increasing. This is also the case for patients who only wish to see Dr Pathak.
A new Dr has been employed to work on a regular basis as Dr Pathak has now semi-retired and does work maybe 1-2 mornings weekly. Patients have stated that they find this easier to book appointments and can now been seen on the same day if not in the same week. Alternatives can also be offered such as the walk in centre, NHS 111, Minor ailments etc.
Action taken:
Telephone lines now open at 8am, this allows patients to book for on the day embargos for the Dr. the lines can be busy during this time but patients must be persistent. Patient feedback is positive as they are now able to see a doctor on the same day. This has also prevented the number of DNA’s we have on a daily basis. If on the day appointments have been taken following the busy period of calls, the next available appointment is booked or alternative services are available such as the walk in centre and Minor ailments. We do also ask patients to ring back in the afternoon to check if there are any cancellations.
Problem:
One week wait or longer for appointment
Discussion:
Patients find it hard to get an appointment when they need to be seen urgently as they have to wait one week or more to be seen. This is very frustrating and is found to be a main cause for concern.
Action Taken:
Patients have been encouraged to ring for emergency appointments at 8am as the telephone lines are now open 1 hour earlier. This allows patients to be able to book on the day appointments. As well as this due to the employment of a full-time DR in September 2014, there are more slots available for patients to pre-book.
System one online was launched last year, patients who do complain that they struggle to book an appointment within 1 week, we advise them to sign up to use online booking. Patients have found this very affective as they are able to book for a time that suits them as well as with a clinician of their choosing. All feedback from system one online users has been positive. We are currently looking at ways and means of how to get non-internet users or elderly patients using the online booking system.
Problem:
Busy telephone lines
Discussion:
Telephone lines are constantly busy when patients try to contact the surgery which becomes very frustrating.
Action Taken:
Telephone lines are now open from 8am each day to allow patients to book for on the day appointments. However the lines can still be very busy from 8am- 11am which can be frustrating for the patients but persistence is key.
Headsets have now been introduced to all members of staff meaning if they are away from the computer screen they are still able to answer telephone calls.
Telephone opening hours are from 8am-1pm and then from 2pm-6:30pm.
Patients do believe that the telephone system which was introduced last year has been very beneficial as patients are given options i.e. appointments, results, general enquiries etc. If lines are busy a queuing system has been put in place so patients can wait on the line without having to keep riming. Music is played through their line so they know that they haven’t been cut off even when the line is engaged.
Problem:
A&E Attendances
Discussion:
The surgery is constantly getting letters from A&E regarding un-necessary attendances. Patients need to be made aware of other services that are available and that A&E is for EMERGENCIES ONLY. The cost of each A&E attendance is £500. Alternative services are available for patients to use such as the walk in centre, minor ailments as well as the NHS 111 service. Patients from the PPG group have stated how good the OOH services are as they use them themselves if they do struggle to get a same day appointment with their GP.
Action Taken:
Patients are made aware of the importance of their a&e attendance and that they should attend for emergencies only. Alternative services are available for them to use if they cannot wait for their Dr’s appointment. System one online is also available if patients are having difficulty with booking an appointment.
Patients who attend A&E for an un-necessary reason the practice will write to them, including a leaflet detailing all other options avoiding A&E unless necessary.
Problem:
DNA’s
Discussion:
DNA is an abbreviation for did not attend, DNA’s are a main problem at the surgery and is out of control of the staff members. Patients who do not attend their appointment are wasting a useful appointment either with the nurse or with the dr that someone else may need. This is an issue which is discussed at each PPG group as patients like an update on the number of dna’s within the last 3 months and what measures have been taken in order to reduce the number of dna’s. We do encourage people to cancel their appointment if they are no longer needed so they can be offered to someone in need.
Action Taken:
The total number of DNA’s are calculated each month and displayed on the reception desk in clear view of all patients who visit the surgery. Patients have noticed the decrease in the number of DNA’s over the last few months due to the actions that we have taken from ideas suggested by the PPG members.
One method of improving the problem was to allow for more on-the day bookings as people are less likely to forget about their appointments. This has proven to be very efficient as the DNA rate has reduced and more appointments are now available.
Another method that we have also proven to be beneficial is the use of text messages. Patients that book an appointment are notified of the date and time of their appointment at the time of booking as well as the day before as a reminder.
System one online users also have the option to cancel any appointment that they have booked without the need to call the surgery.
DNA’s January 2015 - 52
DNA’s February 2015 - 75
DNA’s March 2015 - 62
PLEASE CANCEL APPOINTMENTS IF THEY ARE NOT NEEDED
Problem:
Late Night Surgery
Discussion:
Patients who work find it difficult to attend the doctor’s surgery around their job as some patients do not finish work until after 6pm when surgery is closed. This is very stressful for them as they have to either book time off work or attend the walk in centre.