DRAFT COPY
MINUTES OF CREWKERNE HEALTH CENTRE PATIENT FORUM (PF) HELD ON WEDNESDAY 16TH JULY 2014 AT 6.30 P.M.
Present: Tesa Budd, Joan Farris, Annie Gleeson (Secretary), David Hughes (Chairman), Jayne Nicholas, Louise Walker.
1.Apologies for absence were received from: Sylvia Allman, Neville Adams and Bob Meades.
2.Matters Arising from the previous Meeting. LW confirmed that she had sent a copy of the Minutes of the last meeting to Roger Callan, who had attended as an observer.
As it seems likely that SA will be out of action for a while, JF offered to write to MP David Laws to ask for his support for the 'Your GP Cares" campaign. It was generally agreed that, given the serious problem of recruiting sufficient GPs throughout the region, it would be a good idea to get as much support for the campaign as possible.
3.Hospital Fete
JF reported that, unfortunately, this event had not been well attended, possibly due to the very wet weather. Subsequently it had not been possible to get very many signatures on the petition to support the "Your GP Cares" campaign. It was felt that it would be better to concentrate efforts for the campaign at the Flu Fun Day in October. It was also decided not to take part in the Hospital Fete next year.
4.Flu Fun Day
This will be held on Saturday 11th October, with an additional day on Sunday booked to administer extra flu vaccinations.
LW confirmed that, as last year, the Hardington WIare prepared to provide tea and cakes for the event. The PF will be responsible for the Raffle, with prizes being donated from CHC patients and local businesses. It was agreed that all the money raised from the raffle would be donated to Children in Need. All other money raised would be divided equally between the WI and the PF, with a proportion of the PF money also being donated to Children in Need.
It was felt that this was a fair division of the money raised, with the lions share going to Children in Need, a fair return to the WI for the very generous donation of cakes and (wo)man power to serve the refreshments, while also allowing the PF to retain a small sum in its bank account to finance other health events in the future.
LW agreed to send out letters asking for raffle prizes and confirmed that the Hall has been booked for the event.
5.Patient Participation Enhanced Service (LW)
LW explained the changes to this existing Service, which all practices can elect to engage in as part of their payment enhancement structure. Emphasis is on patient groups being more representative and inclusive of a wider group of patients. This topic had been discussed at the March and April PF meetings, following the distribution of the County PPG Discussion Document on Protected Groups. There is now no requirement for the Practice to carry out an annual survey, as in previous years, but there is a continuing responsibility to review feedback information from patients' experience of using the Health Centre and its services. In particular, LW highlighted the problems associated with obtaining feedback from groups of people who do not make much use of the Health Centre facilities, for example the under 40 age group.
DH reminded the PF group that the Folder on the Notice board afforded patients a very simple and direct way to pass on any comments they had - good and bad - about their experience of using the Health Centre. He suggested that perhaps a regular item on the Agenda for PF meetings could be included to cover recent comments received via the Folder.
The question was raised as to whether the PF would prefer to get involved with more targeted surveys, like the Waiting Room Survey which has just been set up (See AOB).
A discussion took place as to whetherFacebook and Twitter could be used to canvas younger groups about their views on Health Centre facilities. However, there was concern about confidentiality issues and the risk of abusive responses, and an awareness of the importance of careful monitoring of these services. LW confirmed that there is a WiFi service in the Health Centre but was unsure of the possible problems of increased use of mobile phones/laptop devices in the waiting room. DH agreed to raise the matter of improved liaison with younger groups at the next Health Forum meeting. JN suggested liaising with other practices, and possibly Wadham School, to find the best way to develop projects on, for example, access to health information.
LW suggested that young parents and children could be a useful target group to survey. She also thought that GPs would be the best source of information about their own patients if specific health issues were to be considered in any future survey project. In addition, new patients registering with the Practice, who are not indigenous to the UK, could be invited to comment on their experience of accessing health care facilities. This would involve liaising with the receptionist team as part of the process of understanding the issues involved for this particular group of patients.
LW confirmed that a New Patient Questionnaire is given to new patients.
It was agreed that the Virtual Group needs to be promoted more actively, for example by sending out the Newsletter electronically to increase circulation.
6.Items for next Newsletter
Items discussed included: a profile of Laura Reeves, the Nurse Practitioner who will be joining the Practice in September;developments with the "Your GP Cares" campaign; progress on improvements to the Waiting Room; arrangements for the Flu Fun Day and an update on the responses to the Appointments Systems Flow Chart.
With regard to the last item, AG enquired as to whether there had been any feedback from the introduction of the new system. LW said that the appointments system was still under review and that it was also likely that Laura Reeves' appointment would have an impact on the new system. For example, it is anticipated that it will be possible to create more pre-bookable appointments.
LW commented that implementation of the new system has been made more complicated because not all doctors at the Health Centre organise their appointments in the same way. For example, some doctors prefer face-to-face rather than telephone appointments. Two training sessions are being planned, with Health Centre staff, to review and discuss the different types of appointments.
It was decided to make copies of the September Newsletter available at the Flu Fun Day.
7.Any Other Business
JN circulated a Waiting Room Survey document drawn up by herself, BM and JF. It is based, initially, on three questions: What do you like about the waiting room, what do you dislike about the waiting room, what would you like to see improved? This is followed by the opportunity for people to grade, on a scale of 1 to 4 (poor to excellent) specific features of the waiting room. These include: décor, lighting, music, seating, TV screen, noticeboards/leaflets, patient call system, signage, confidentiality. There is also an opportunity for people to add their own comments. It was generally agreed that this form is well-designed and creates an opportunity for patients to accurately describe their experience of using the waiting room.
Some discussion took place regarding the best way to get patients to complete the survey form. BM has indicated that he would be prepared to distribute the forms to patients in the waiting room on specific days. JN suggested it might be better to wait until September in order to include schoolchildren in the survey. The question was raised about identifying a specific area for wheelchairs in the waiting room area, and a suggestion was made to display artwork produced by schoolchildren on the waiting room walls.
JF suggested that the survey could also be distributed at the Flu Fun Day and LW offered to put the form on the website for the Virtual Group to complete. LW also suggested Friday pm as a good time to target young parents and babies to canvas their views on the waiting room. A vaccination clinic is held between 1.45 and 3.30 p.m.
DH had been approached suggesting the provision of drinking water in the waiting room as an additional facility for patients. However, there was some concern expressed regarding issues with young children running about and water being spilled. The same concerns applied to the possible provision of a coffee/tea machine in the waiting room.
LW reported that, following complaints by patients about long waiting times for INR tests (Warfarin), the Health Centre was planning a trial on the following day with a Practice Nurse being responsible for the whole procedure. (As a consequence of the availability of new drugs, the numbers of people on warfarin are declining). JN requested feedback from The Practice for the September meeting (18th). LW gave her apologies in advance as she will not be able to attend the September meeting.
LW raised the issue of PF being involved in the selection of supplementary questions as part of a Friends and Family Test exercise, which has to be implemented by December. For example, questions could include "Do you find the telephone appointments helpful?", "What has not been asked in the appointment you've just had with the doctor?". This information was to give PF members an opportunity to consider possible ideas for useful questions.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 18th September at 6.30 p.m.