MINUTES OF CASTLE HEALTHCARE PPG CABINET MEETING

DECEMBER 6 2016

PRESENT – Dave, Louise, Robert, Linda, David, Gail, Barbara

APOLOGIES – Peter, Alan, Ann, Sue.

1. Minutes of last meeting agreed. Matters arising;

  • Website – copies of our minutes are now up to date. Our names have been added to the PPG section. Louise will check version and location of triage flowchart, links and opening of minutes without downloading.
  • Survey – no information in Sue’s absence
  • Newsletter- latest edition very good, printed on line. Louise suggested that in the next edition have an article re medical students & the importance of their training in general practice as some patients refuse their sitting in appointments (which is their right of course)
  • Support for sensory impaired students – no update from Sue available. Ann had requested we discuss the possibility of 20 min GP appointments for sensory impaired patients. Of course all patients can request this if they feel they will need a longer session but it isn’t routine and might not be thought of. How many might this apply to? Louise pointed out that such patients have already been identified and written to so that they can respond to their needs. Louise will request the question is raised with the executive via Sue.

2. Feedback on Public Meeting – in general we all felt it was a very good meeting, both informative & interesting. Nonetheless we still tend to struggle with all the different terms, the role of Partners Health & all the varied areas of CCG work. About 40 attended. The final feedback forms have only just been received but so far look positive. Barbara will analyse & circulate the results.

Kam suggested we hold a more general meeting in conjunction with the other WB practices, probably at the library, which would make advertising much easier. There hasn’t been much enthusiasm for this but it is worth keeping in mind & perhaps the WB practices should reinstitute meeting independently before Active meetings?

3. Feedback from Self Care Week- overall we felt it went better than last year because the focus & messages were more limited so that it was easier to talk to patients. However, we were disappointed that the banner was delayed, the bunting went missing & there were only minimal promotional materials from the CCG; we had been promised key messages. Nor did a poster re antibiotic-use materialise. Fortunately Louise ran off some materials, Linda made a wall display in the café & several of us put together a table re walking & exercise upstairs. Although it was noted that some patients did look at this stand they were limited & in general the fact that it was self-care week was likely to have passed by most people. It was good to see a banner and display re Action for Blind but frustrating that this had a prime site downstairs whereas the key messages of self-care were less accessible.

Before next year’s event we would like to have further discussion with the Practice about working cooperatively to help change the general culture so that patients feel more responsibility for managing their health. But they need the tools to do this & we still wonder about using the Information Stand to encourage access to support groups, RCVS schemes etc. Perhaps we could staff it once a week? RCVS might well be willing to help too.

4. Virtual Group & New Forum Plans –Robert has checked & nothing to report from the VG.

We had quite a lengthy discussion re the Forum with some questioning of whether we should resurrect it as planned – and as part of our Constitution – or just run a couple of public meetings each year. However, it was finally agreed that there is a role for a Forum as a more interactive, continuous body which will aid feedback from our large patient list. It can also be a vehicle for informative talks, related discussion, help with events and running rotas e.g. for Self-Care Week. Agreed it would be good to have the first meeting in the Spring & start planning in January. A suggested speaker is Maria Kennedy re patient experiences.

5. Our Next Steps –there wasn’t much time for discussion but our first thoughts were that, now both the public meeting & Self-Care Week are over, we might initially focus on the following;

  • Setting up the new Forum
  • Supporting the Practice in educating patients about the use of antibiotics
  • Gail raised the issue of whether the Practice is autism friendly. She will send us some research on the topic & it’s something we should raise
  • Other issues raised in the meeting – see above - e.g. re information & display
  • Informing patients about using 111 &, in general, where to go when.

6. CCG Feedback – the recent Patient Active & Cabinet meetings were cancelled in favour of a larger event re the Sustainability Transformation Plan. In practice we discussed this right at the beginning of the meeting as Linda, who attended on our behalf, was unable to stay for long. Linda had already sent us related papers & referred us to the appropriate website. The CCG wants our feedback by Jan 5. Initially the following questions were raised;

  • What is the role of Centene?
  • How do all the different parts of the plan + MCP & Partners Health fit together?
  • What will be the impact on already stretched primary services?
  • How will the necessary cultural changes that both the public & HCPs will have to make be managed?

Agreed we should send any more questions to Robert once we have studied the information further. Louise to copy the shorter version of the report for us all.

Further feedback from the last Cabinet development session;

  • The CCG’s quarterly dashboard indicates that all 12 practices have been awarded Good or Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission. One of the criterion is that the PPG is active & that GPs attend & are engaged with their patients
  • The Facture Liaison Service is the first in the country to have the nurse(s) deliver treatments by injections. This is to be rolled out to the rest of Notts & an example of how Vanguard will spread
  • Musters Practice are now signposting the PPG on their screens which has aroused considerable interest e.g. people joining their VG.

7. A.O.B.

  1. 3 people have expressed interest in joining the Cabinet. Peter will meet them.
  2. NHS Choices – would be good to encourage positive comments re the Practice as it tends to attract only the negative.

Date of next meeting – Jan 10 at 5.45. Please note the change of date.