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PPG Minutes 5th June 2023, 7pm
Present
- Jean Poole (Chair and secretary)
- Dr Vicky Smith
- Rob Munden
- Tess Munden
- Richard Marshall
- Lee Atkins
- Dave Powell
- Ann Tunstall
- Lee Davit
- Trudy Gwatkin
- Mike Woodward
- Maureen Woodward
Guest
- Mary Bennett (Carers Support Centre)
Welcome
Jean welcomed everyone to the meeting
Apologies
- Mike Garett
- Cindy Garett
- Sharon Shaw
- Kerry Harding
- Barbara Bird
Approval of Previous Minutes
The minutes of 17th April were approved by the group
Matters Arising From Previous Minutes
- Advance care planning: it was agreed that a specific meeting to discuss the way forward and involving the PPG would be helpful. – Dr Smith to follow up with JP
- PPG chair network meetings: another meeting has yet to be take place – JP to contact others to arrange.
- Appointment availability: things had improved and appointments for most services were available, but GP appointments were still difficult and not available to book on line. However, urgent cases were being dealt with promptly. Patient choice of telephone or face to face appointments was working well
- Care navigation: a review is taking place and an update meeting is being held to identify any issues and to review the data collected. The role of pharmacists and what specific support they can offer is one of the key topics for discussion. Patient access to services remains part of the GP NHS contract. In response to a question , it was confirmed that the NHS 111 service had direct access to book a GP appointment should that be the appropriate route for the patient. - Dr Smith and Lee A to feedback details of the review
- Covid vaccination clinics: these went well and vaccinations for the last few house-bound patients will be completed shortly. The national campaign will be completed by the end of June.
- Flu clinics are likely to start in September as usual and guidance is awaited regarding the arrangements for Covid boosters. Once again support from the PPG would be welcomed – update expected at the next meeting
PPG Issues
- New PPG members validation: a number of patients had recently joined the email group, which is growing steadily.
- NAPP newsletters: the most recent (no 73) referred to the GP practice “Access routes campaign” which linked nicely to the care navigation review taking place at the practice. Jean highlighted one of the points raised in the newsletter regarding information about the different roles within the practice being available to patients. It was agreed that this should be looked at, given that Courtside has a number of healthcare professionals, with different titles, seeing patients. – RM / Dr S to take forward
Courtside Issues
- Staffing update: The practice has a new Physiotherapist (Amy) who can assess patients and may be able to deal with their needs prior to or rather than being referred to the full MSK ( musculoskeletal service). A new p/t receptionist (Sara) has joined the practice and a further recruitment campaign is underway for another. Richard (practice manager) will be leaving in July to take up a new post as “Armed forces single point of contact manager” for the local area. He thanked the PPG team for their support and the group wished him well. A replacement is being recruited and temporary cover has been arranged in the meantime. A new GP (Jacqui Rudge) will be starting in September
- Carers support: Jean introduced Mary Bennett (GP Carer Liaison Worker) and advised the group that this week is carers week. The carers event focussing on the Discharge to Assess transformation programme, being held on 8th June, was discussed. Dr Smith was able to explain the local arrangements after hospital discharge and it was agreed to develop the discussion further at the next meeting. Mary explained her role and the support provided by the Carers Centre in Fishponds and went through the information she had provided for display. This included : Carers assessment , Carers Emergency card, GP / Hospital liaison workers, support for young carers and the registration of carers with their GP practice. Courtside had been assessed for an award recently, given the emphasis being placed on supporting carers within the practice. A new notice board to display Carers support information was now available – JP to set up this week and PPG to maintain ( completed 6th June). The group were supportive of the idea of Carers support workers being available to see carers in the practice on occasions , as this had had been successful elsewhere – RM/ Dr S to discuss. Jean thanked Mary for attending and providing such useful information
AOB
- An item regarding the management of insulin injections for newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic patients was deferred until the next meeting
Jean thanked everyone for attending
Date of Next Meeting
Monday 17th August 2023 – 7pm