Notes of patients meeting at Parliament Hill Medical Centre, Wednesday 2 November 2016 from 6.30 to 7.45 pm

1Summary

The purpose of the meeting wasto discuss how, over the next year, Parliament Hill Medical Centre can work with patients to promote health and wellbeing, and prevent illness.

18 patients attended and the top three themes were:

  • Electronic communication of health messages to individuals by email and text, to give information and prompts about wellbeing
  • Social prescribing – where an individual links a patient to community wellbeing activities to meet their needs
  • Actively linking local communities through loose networks to promote wellbeing

The meeting was attended by Drs Johnson and Calmers-Watson, who thanked those present for attending. The discussion was facilitated by Martin Bould, a patient at the practice. The steps in the discussion are set out below.

2What does the practice do well to promote health and wellbeing in face to face consultations?

The patients felt the following were important and any promotion of health and wellbeing should maintain and build on these trusted characteristics:

-Reception staff are approachable

-The surgery is a welcoming space

-Reduces anxiety and stress by being available and helpful

-The way the GPs approach their work is valued by patients

-The practice shows kindness, flexibility, personal interest - and provides trusted referrals

-Blood pressure/health checks

-Quality of listening

-Treatment is not driven by medicines

-Pharmacy – seamless – quick (some patients)

-Mental health problems are addressed

-The potential for a relationship with one doctor is valued

3What else can the practice do to work with patients to promote health and wellbeing?

The following ideas were put forward:

  • Support group
  • Some-one to link an individual to community wellbeing activities that suited their needs and temperament (some such schemes were called ‘social prescribing’)
  • Notice board for information
  • Avoid excessive antibiotic use
  • Campaign about air quality
  • Dance/movement sessions in the practice extension
  • Well woman clinic
  • Opening hours - more suitable for those who work
  • Proactive sharing of health information electronically (as well as information in the surgery)
  • ‘Pushed’ messages/apps/alerts/ health checks.

4In practice

There was a discussion about how these initiatives could happen in practice. Issues raised included:

  • Practical considerations - who will undertake the tasks
  • Making weight management a guilt thing would not work and would not be the right approach
  • Improvingwellbeing should include promoting emotional wellbeing
  • Support groups could be a group of people who can help
  • Provide motivation
  • Share information about opportunities: there are lots already but not well known
  • Employer issues (best practice for wellbeing in the workplace) – these issues could greatly affect individual wellbeing
  • Promoting wellbeing should not mean that patients are palmed off with self-help instead of treatment
  • Spiritual wellbeing should be recognised too
  • Wisdom out there – GPs are about more than sickness
  • Local campaigns had been successful in bringing people together, e.g. to keep the swimming pool in a local fitness centre
  • Integration in a community – the network of neighbourhood, community andintergenerational exchange are the fabric of a community: – things like the Saturday market where you would see neighbours. Initiatives should work with the grain (as a shorthand this was called ‘actively linking communities’)
  • TV programmes had a great ‘reach’ and alerts to wellbeing programmes could be circulated.

5Suggesting priorities

Five themes were selected and put to the vote (two votes for each patient), with the results:

  • Campaigns 1
  • Electronic communication12
  • Groups5
  • Social prescribing8
  • Actively linking communities6

6 Next steps

Individuals interested in helping these ideas become a reality are invited to contact the practice.

Partners would consider what could be done within the resources of time and finance available, including linking up with other initiatives in Camden.

A further meeting would be called in the new year, probably in spring, to discuss these or related issues, or to other matters of concern to patients.

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