SMITHY SURGERY PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP
MINUTES OF MEETING 30th November 2017
PRESENT:Mary Fitton (Chair); Mai Spencer (secretary); Sharon Battersby; Jeff Barlow; Dr. Kay Phillips; Margaret Howarth (surgery admin rep). Dr. Heather Metcalfe attended early part of the meeting.
APOLOGIES: David Collins; Anne Coll; Jan Wright; Pat Ralls
MINUTES of PREVIOUS MEETING:Agreed.
MATTERS ARISING:
Electronic banner- David sent his apologies as he had not had time to complete his tasks as per last meeting. It was noted that various messages were now appearing on the banner as agreed with Jan. It was noted that Jan had taught himself how to use the banner and that someone else needs to learn these skills. In addition who will be the person from within the practice who will be the liaison person regarding content for the banner?
ACTION-David to complete outstanding tasks regarding the banner (SEE previous minutes).
Meeting with Go-to-Doc (GTD). Postponed as there is delay in the process i.e. difficulties have arisen in valuing the building as a medical facility. In addition some members of staff have not yet been interviewed by GTD.
Statins board in waiting room- Jeff informed the meeting that Pat had not realised she was meant to liaise with Heather Metcalf about this.
ACTION- Pat to contact Heather about this.
DNA noticeboard-Wendy (practice manager) has not provided Pat with the necessary figures. Meanwhile Kay has e-mailed Wendy about this.
NowPatient- Mai had sent n the information to Kay as agreed. A brief discussion took place about the nature of the service and it’s pros and cons.
STANDING ITEMS:
GP and Practice update (KP & HM). Heather Metcalfe addressed the meeting regarding the current appointment system. The changes which followed the cessation of open surgeries are not working as hoped. The pressure on receptionists from the volume of telephone calls is unacceptable.The waiting time for planned non-urgent appointment is unacceptably long. It was discovered that the system was 3 sessions a week short i.e. 45 appointments weekly. New proposal are to extend triage by a GP to every morning, all morning (unfortunately this results in only two doctors being available for face-to-face consultations) in order to gatekeep effectively and signpost elsewhere as appropriate. Appointments will revert to 10 minutes. There will be 8 urgent slots per day. GTD had been approached to see if they can manage phone calls on behalf of the surgery and to perhaps supple a suitably qualified person to undertake morning triage. It was noted that as the Smithy is a small team there is no slack in the system.
ACTION- it was agreed that the previous plan to produce a flowchart for patients regarding the system be deferred until the latest changes settle down and their success ascertained.
Urgent care- the e-mail and attachments sent by Kay had been circulated but members had been misinformed about how to access further detail and the report. ACTION-Mai to send e-mail to members with the relevant information about the link to the reports.
It was noted that the electronic banner is working well and Jan was thanked for his work on this.
The practice has an excess of flu jabs for which it will only be reimbursed a fraction of the cost from the suppliers; due to deregulation other private providers also undertake this service.
Suggestion Box (SB). No suggestions.
Glossop Patient Neighbourhood Group (SB & JB). Firstly,With regard to Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Organisation Sharon reported that Derbyshire C.C. will only be aligned rather than fully integrated. Secondly there had been input from the district nurse service about ‘end of life care’. The ‘gold standard framework meeting’ was explained and it was noted that Smithy staff had not as yet undertaken the training. Kay explained the reasons saying it was not due to a lack of desire to undertake but due to other pressures. She continued to explain that end of life patents are reviewed at the Smithy at every practice meeting and this includes patients in care homes.
It was noted that no mention had been made of the future of Shirehill hospital at the GPNG meting
Hyde & Longdendale Patient Neighbourhood Group (AC & MF). Mary reported that the self care day in November held at the Clarendon Centre in Hyde had been very successful. Leaflets and face-to-face information for the public had been provided as had e.g. blood pressure checks. Kay asked whether this was something the PPG might like to consider. Discussion took place and it was suggested that Hollingworth Festival on the Green in May 2018 might be a good event to access for this purpose. ACTION- Mai to add it to the suggestions for the PPG 2018 year plan.
Patient Network Meeting (MF & MS). No further information available. A Patient Engagement exercise had taken place under the auspices of Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Organisation, which Mary had attended. She felt that there is a willingness to listen to patients and responses seem positive.
Noticeboards (PR)Mary Fitton offered to help Pat if necessary as Pat has lots to do e.g. Winter seasonal board/DNA board/statins board.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
Urgent care- From the patient engagement workshop mentioned above Mary gave a resume of the proposals. Briefly, there will be an urgent care centre from 9am-9pm and at weekend at Tameside Hospital. It will be a walk-in service and patients will be triaged to A&E if necessary. Additionally, there are to be 3 or five hubs which will provide planned appointments 6.30pm-9pm every day and 9am-1pm at weekends, bookable via GP practices or NHS111. ACTION- in addition to action outlined earlier Mary will forward the e-mail and link to the PPG virtual group.
It was agreed not to have aPPG meeting in December.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING: 25th January 2018 4.30pm PLEASE NOTE THIS WILL BE OUR AGM; REVIEW OF 2017 PLAN AND FORMULATING OUR 2018 PLAN and is your chance to have your say about what you would like from the group in 2018 and what you would like the PPG to do.