Local Participation Report 2012

Gayton Road Health Centre:

1. Establish a PRG comprising only of registered patients and use best endeavours to ensure PRG is representative.

The Gayton Road Health Centre has had an established Patient Reference Group (PRG) for the last 15 years, they are known as the Patient Participation Group (PPG). The group met on the 9th June 2011 to discuss extending the patient representation by creating a virtual Patient Reference Group (vPRG) and also discussed any other methods of patient participation that could be implemented.The group has quarterly meetings and also holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM). A clinician, manager and team leader is also present at the meetings.

Over the years the PPG have been involved in various projects and reviews of systems including changes to phone systems, appointment systems, triage involvement and online services.

A representative from the PPG also attends the Patient Care Group meetings which are held bi-annually. These meetings provide an overview as well as scrutinising services that are available for patients.

The Chairperson of the PPG also attends the West Norfolk Patient Partnership meetings and is also an active member of the National Association for Patient Participation (N.A.P.P).

The surgery also agreed to establish a vPRG in order to get a wider representation of registered patients i.e. younger people and a wider class representation. There has been stretching and far reaching efforts achieved in order to establish this target.

A profile of current PRG members, a detailed explanation of the actions we have taken and the consultation with patients is included in Appendix A. As a result of these actionsthere are currently 75 vPRG members at the Gayton Road Health Centre.We will continue in the coming months to try and get even wider representation in the vPRG as well as the actual PPG.

2. Agree with the PRG which issues are a priority and include these in a local practice survey.

Subsequent meetings on the 11th August 2011 and the 13th October 2011 reviewed previous national surveys and the group was given the choice of using a national patient survey or a local survey. The PPG chose to devise their own local survey in order to be able to focus on key issues at Gayton Road Health Centre. The surgery helped the group to devise the survey and a similar format to a national survey was used as shown in Appendix B.

3. Collate patient views through local practice survey and inform PRG of the findings.

The PPG undertook the patient survey in November 2011 to January 2012. Members of the group came into the surgery to hand out the surveys for the patients to complete.

4. Provide PRG with opportunity to comment and discuss findings of local practice survey. Reach agreement with PRG of changes in provision and manner of delivery of services. Where the PRG does not agree significant changes, agree these with the PCT.

The Chairperson of the PPG collated the results and circulated them to members of the PRG in advance of the next committee meeting which was held on the 9th February 2012, please see Appendix C. The survey was completed by approximately 160 patients.

5. Agree with the PRG an action plan setting out the priorities and proposals arising out of the local practice survey. Seek PRG agreement to implement changes and where necessary inform the PCT.

The PPG discussed the results of the survey and overall were pleased with the responses received which highlighted significant improvements compared to results from previous years. Actions were discussed that they felt were necessary to improve services for patients further as stated in Appendix D.

6. Publicise the Local Patient Participation Report on the practice website andupdate the report on subsequent achievement.

The Local Participation Report is available for patient access via the website and we have signposted this in the Patients’ bi monthly newsletter.

In addition, we have made the following information readily available in this report, via the practice booklet and on our website:

Reception/Opening Times

We have a team of experienced receptionists and secretaries who deal with appointments, telephone enquiries and other aspects of administration within the surgery. They are here to help you, so please remember they have a busy and sometimes difficult job.

Gayton Road Health & Surgical Centre is open weekdays from 8.15am to 6.30pm.

Doctors/Nurses Appointments

We have an appointments system in this practice. You will be given a time at which the doctor or nurse hopes to be able to see you.

Please do everything you can to keep appointments, tell us as soon as possible if you cannot attend and be ready to tell us details of your past illnesses, medication, hospital admissions and any other relevant details.

We will try to ensure that you are seen within 15 minutes of your appointment time, but some consultations take longer than others and we have no way of knowing about this in advance. When there is a prolonged delay, an explanation will be given by the receptionist.

Please try to be punctual; if you arrive later than your appointment time, this may cause delays and inconvenience to other patients. Please ask for more than one appointment if you want more than one patient to be seen. If we are running late, please be patient, because on another occasion it might be you that needs the extra time. Please do not blame the receptionist.

We will try to answer the phone promptly (within 6 rings) and to ensure that there is sufficient staff available to do this.

Please keep your phone call brief and avoid calling during the peak morning time for non-urgent matters.

Appointments can be made by telephone Monday to Friday between 8.15am – 5.00pm on the following number:

084 44 77 33 77

or at reception between 8.15 – 6.00pm. You can also book appointments through our online service if you have registered. Our telephone is a touchtone with instructions to follow to each department.

A large proportion of our doctor’s appointments can now be booked for up to four weeks in advance. Receptionists are able to book these appointments for up to four week in advance. The remainder are available to be booked on the day only. If your own GP is fully booked, you will be offered an appointment with another GP. Once all appointments are booked on the day, our Triage doctor or nurse will ring you back as soon as it is possible to see how best to help. This may be in the form of advice, a prescription, an appointment on the day with a nurse/doctor or an appointment with your own doctor or another doctor at a more appropriate time.

The opportunity to book an appointment with a GP outside of our normal Opening Hours

All our patients are now able to book an appointment with a GP at one of the additional following times:

At Gayton Road Health Centre:

Early MorningsWednesday07:30am – 08:15am

Late EveningsTuesday18:30pm – 7:30pm (2 GP’s on duty) Thursday 18:30pm – 7:30pm (2 GP’s on duty)

WeekendsSaturday08:30am – 11:00am 2/3 Weeks

Some important things to Remember

  • These appointments are for pre-booked GP appointments only.
  • The surgeries are not open for any other business during these extended hours.
  • Only those with booked appointments will be let into the building.
  • The current Out Of Hours service will provide urgent care during these times as it does now Telephone No 01603 488 488

How to Book an Appointment

  • Some of these appointments can be booked 4 weeks ahead, 5 days ahead and others 2 days ahead.
  • These appointments only are open to any patient registered at the Gayton Road or Carole Brown Health centres. For example a Dersingham patient who wants an early morning appointment can book one at Gayton Road Health Centre for a Wednesday morning.
  • You can either book them through our Patient Solutions team on 08444 77 33 77 or through our online system. To use our online services you will need to bring with you some photo identification and complete a simple form at reception. You will then be issued with a username and password. With this service you will be able to arrange any appointments you may have.

We hope this new service will be helpful to you. If you have any comments on it please tell us. Or you can write to the Secretary of either Health Centres Patient Participation Group and leave the letter at your surgery for them.

Our guarantee to you is that

  • If a doctor decides you need to be seen today, you will be seen today
  • On your first phone call, or if you come in person, we will offer you one of these options

An appointment with your doctor

An appointment with another doctor if the problem cannot wait

The opportunity to speak to your doctor on the phone

The opportunity to speak to another doctor on the phone if the problem cannot wait.

An appointment with the triage nurse if the problem is one the nurse can deal with

An appointment in one of our chronic care clinics if that’s appropriate

In our surveys you have said that you want to be able to book more appointments in advance rather than having to ring on the day to get an appointment.

There will be

  • MORE DOCTORS APPOINTMENTS FOR YOU TO BOOK UP TO FOUR WEEKS AHEAD
  • VERY FEW APPOINTMENTS THAT CAN BE BOOKED ‘ON THE DAY’. THESE WILL BE FOR THOSE IN URGENT NEED OF BEING SEEN THE SAME DAY.

More new services for our patients:

Automated telephone appointments

This is for doctors appointments and you can book, cancel or check an appointment using our secure 24/7 telephone booking service. You will need to key in your telephone number and date of birth for the system to recognise you.

To use this you can call anytime on 01553 696888

Internet appointments

This is for doctor’s appointments and you can book, cancel or check an appointment using our secure on line booking system. You can also order your repeat prescriptions online. You need to come in with photo ID to register for this service and to get a password.

Appendix A)

Virtual Patient Reference Group

Actions Taken to Promote:

  • vPRG Forms are available on front reception desks at all three sites.

i)Forms also available in other waiting areas.

  • vPRG forms included in all appropriate outgoing mail to patients (i.e. recall letters, appointment letters, new patient information packs etc). See below for details of the numbers of recall letters sent out with this information.
  • vPRG forms attached to Surgery Newsletter. The newsletter is published bi-monthly and readily available for patients to pick up at reception and in waiting areas at the surgeries.
  • PRG – What it is and downloadable/printable forms are available for all patients to view on the Surgery Website, the link to this has also been posted on Vida Healthcare’s Facebook & Twitter pages.
  • Patients, especially those in the target groups where more representation was needed, wereapproached while inthe surgery and asked to complete a form if they are interested, (surgery newsletters given out at the same time).
  • The vPRG is promoted via our advertising television screens that are placed in various waiting areas in the surgery.
  • The PRG Project was explained at all team meetings (Nursing, Admin, PACT & PPG) to ensure all team members are aware and can promote the service to patients.
  • Progress Reports of actions taken discussed twice monthly at Change Management and Premises & Communication Team meetings (PACT)* – Actions are reviewed.

*There are a minimum of two patient participation group members at each PACT meeting so that patient views on the PRG can be conveyed by patients as well as staff members.

Number of Recall Letters sent out in a one month period that included a vPRG form:

Date/Time / Branch / From / To / Message / Type / Stat
27/02/2012 08:10:16 / 1 / SmartMail / 199 / Respiratory Clinic R... / MailSBW / Sent
27/02/2012 08:02:28 / 1 / SmartMail / 46 / Respiratory Clinic R... / MailSBW / Sent
21/02/2012 15:21:53 / 1 / SmartMail / 10 / Cytology Recall Lett... / MailSBW / Sent
15/02/2012 15:58:14 / 1 / SmartMail / 16 / Epilepsy Review - 3r... / MailSBW / Sent
15/02/2012 15:53:07 / 1 / SmartMail / 16 / Epilepsy Review - 2n... / MailSBW / Sent
15/02/2012 14:37:23 / 1 / SmartMail / 13 / Cytology Recall Lett... / MailSBW / Sent
14/02/2012 13:15:30 / 1 / SmartMail / 115 / Respiratory Clinic R... / MailSBW / Sent
14/02/2012 13:08:47 / 1 / SmartMail / 15 / Respiratory Clinic R... / MailSBW / Sent
14/02/2012 13:04:20 / 1 / SmartMail / 105 / Respiratory Clinic R... / MailSBW / Sent
14/02/2012 13:00:27 / 1 / SmartMail / 18 / Respiratory Clinic R... / MailSBW / Sent
13/02/2012 16:24:28 / 1 / SmartMail / 44 / Spirometry Recall.do... / MailSBW / Sent
13/02/2012 16:11:59 / 1 / SmartMail / 76 / Diabetic Monitoring ... / MailSBW / Sent
13/02/2012 16:07:03 / 1 / SmartMail / 75 / Diabetic Annual Revi... / MailSBW / Sent
10/02/2012 12:38:35 / 1 / SmartMail / 108 / Cardiovascular Annua... / MailSBW / Sent
10/02/2012 12:32:09 / 1 / SmartMail / 74 / Cardiovascular Monit... / MailSBW / Sent
10/02/2012 12:19:00 / 1 / SmartMail / 243 / Hypertention_Annual_... / MailSBW / Sent
10/02/2012 12:13:33 / 1 / SmartMail / 205 / Hypertention_Monitor... / MailSBW / Sent
10/02/2012 09:40:22 / 1 / SmartMail / 13 / Cytology Recall Lett... / MailSBW / Sent
03/02/2012 12:35:04 / 1 / SmartMail / 15 / Cytology Recall Lett... / MailSBW / Sent
01/02/2012 13:56:13 / 1 / SmartMail / 155 / Respiratory Clinic R... / MailSBW / Sent
01/02/2012 09:25:50 / 1 / SmartMail / 56 / Respiratory Clinic R... / MailSBW / Sent

Total of 1617 letters sent in one month period to Vida Patients

Actions Taken to create the vPRG Group:

  • All vPRG Patients have been coded on SystmOne and email addresses added to patient record and via website contact list in order to send the emails.*

*Patient confidentiality is kept secure as bulk emailing from the website ensures that the recipient can only see their own email address and not that of any other recipients.

  • A separate email link and contact list for all three surgeries has been arranged so that the data is not merged into one. Surveys are anonymous but patients are advised that they can safely leave their details if they wish to be identified.
  • A record is kept via contact list on website of information that patient has given i.e. ethnicity and age group. Data is also recorded anonymously.
  • Email content decided and finalised. It was necessary to create a personalised survey using one of our surgery website tools. Patients received a welcome email with instructions on how to follow a link to the survey if they are happy to participate. Patients sent the first PRG email on 19th January 2012.

Please see a copy of the first vPRG email below:

Hello. All of the team at Vida Healthcare would like to thank you for agreeing to join your surgery's Patient Reference Group.
We would like to send you a short email once every three months in order to get your views on the services we provide.
If you are happy to participate, click on the link below. Please answer all of the questions and click ‘Send Survey’ when you are done.*
Please click on the link below to complete your survey:

*Please note that all of the surveys returned to us will be anonymous. You are welcome to leave your name in the comments box if you would like us to know who you are.
If you wish to opt out of these emails at any time, please do contact us at the surgery and let us know.
Vida Healthcare
T: 084 44 77 33 77
W:
Find us on Facebook and Twitter - Just search "Vida Healthcare"

Copy of Survey Format:

Top of Form

First impressions of our Surgery

Q1. What do you think of the overall presentation of your Surgery and Waiting Areas?

I like it

Neither like nor dislike

I don't like it

Q2. How clean is your Surgery?

Very Clean

Fairly Clean

Not very clean

Not at all clean

Don't know

Q3. What could we do to improve the presentation of the Reception and Waiting Areas?

Please fill in your comments here

Many thanks for taking the time to answer the questions on this survey

Further Actions after first vPRG email:

  • Members who have joined after the date of 19th January 2012 received the same email at a later date.
  • Data is recorded of all patients who respond to the email, this includes their answer to survey questions as well as any comments they wished to make. The results are discussed at team meetings and action plans are put into place as a result of the patient responses.
  • The surgery is currently making a lot of changes and improvements to the reception and waiting areas and is incorporating what patients are asking for and what they have highlighted in their responses to the PRG email. This includes re-decorating, removing clutter, improving seating, having themed displays and adding flowers/plants at the front desk.
  • Responses are checked on a twice weekly basis and new members to the group are added to the system when their forms are returned to the surgery.
  • ‘Postcard’ Advert to be sent out to patients by next year to promote the service.
  • Second email for the PRG is to be sent in April 2012.

Gayton Road Health Centre Responses to vPRG email January 2012:

Examples of comments that have been received from vPRG members in response to email sent:

Patients of GRHSC:

Profile of PRG Members for GRHC

Gender:

Attendance at Surgery:

Age:

Ethnicity:

Appendix B)

GAYTON ROAD HEALTH CENTRE - PATIENT SURVEY

Website:

Please would you complete the following questionnaire. We need your comments on your treatment and also to monitor any new systems patients use, i.e. booking appointments on-line and the 24 hour automated telephone booking system. (If you do not know about these, please see Reception or one of our Newsletters.) This helps when the Practice are making any improvements to your care. Thank you for your time, it is greatly appreciated.