Patient Participation Forums

Eastmead Surgery

PPG (Patient Participation Group)

15.2.24 1.30 – 2.30pm

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions
2. What is a PPG – our (Surgery and PPG) expectations
3. Roles and responsibilities
4. Patient survey
5. Agree next meeting dates and rotations of timing

Actions

1.Reviewed our current staffing and recent changes and new starters. Suggestion made to put staff photos into a poster for the wall so that patients know who they will be seeing and who works in the PA/admin teams. AC to organise

2. We discussed role of the PPG and how we would like to work together as a group to help the surgery run as well as it can for patients and staff. We will put our PPG statement onto the PPG notice board in the surgery – AC to organise

We are looking for another 1-2 patients to become members, AC to communicate to interested patients via website.

3. We discussed how the meetings are an open discussion for the PPG to raise issues and ideas and for the practice to update the PPG on potential staffing changes going forward, proposals for change coming from NHS England, patient surgery questions etc. Clear that personal issues not to be discussed in this forum. Agreed to meet every 3 months.

4. Patient survey – we discussed the results from the national patient survey and the survey undertaken by the practice in 2023.  Our main issue is access as the demand for services outweighs our capacity of Dr appointments and we talked about some of the recent changes we have made and some of the proposed changes going forward.

a. Employing 2 additional clinicians (pharmacist and paramedic) who can consult with patients who have minor ailments. Both can prescribe. Service started 12 February.

b. Using our Patient Adviser team to care navigate patients to the correct services i.e. in house physio, nurse, Pharmacy First scheme

c. Issues on phone when in the queue and miss the call back – have to start the process again.

d. Leaflets for new patients to explain how to get an appointment and who with – put the information onto our website and direct patients there from our phone messages.

5.Discussion round repeat prescriptions and how to increase patients using the NHS App and the move away from paper requests – suggestions that we check if promotion of the NHS App is on our patient’s television screen, more information on our website regarding how to use the App and include in the patient leaflet for new patients.  Suggestion that we could target patients without the app to come to booked appointments using our IT staff to show them how to download and what information is available on the app – AC to organise

6.Blood tests – how to let patients know that their results are normal. Discussed that GP ordering tests should advise that normal results not communicated but can be found on NHS App.

7.Learning Disability assessments – patients to be seen by GP of their choice – Dr Wasan or Dr Crust. Eastmead admin team to give the choice when booking appointments for patients.

PPG Meeting
Date
Thu 13 Jun 13:30 – 14:30
Confirmed attendees
Anne Cooper, Dr Bonna Wasan
Other Attendees
Comfort F, Eve A, Debbie W, Sonya L Apologies James Y Invited but did not attend Lucia P and Chyril H
Details/Agenda

1. NHS App help sessions
2. Support for over 65’s
3. Blood results
4. BMA ballot
   Actions
5. NHS App help sessions – started a drop in session for all patients who want help with NHS App and online applications, Wednesday pm with IT lead, Victoria. Proving popular and any PA team are booking patients in.
6. Support for over 65’s – walking group for over 65’s on a Tuesday at 11.00am, messaged out to all patients, on website
   and poster in reception. Coffee morning twice a month for over 65’s Hanwell Community Centre, messaged out to all
   patients, website and poster in reception.
7. Blood results – patients are being advised to view results on nhs app and will be contacted by GP is result needs
   discussion/abnormal.
8. BMA ballot – Gp’s are being balloted on taking collective action – results in August
   Collective action is not the same as strike action, but it could see GPs prioritising their patients’ needs over local NHS
   system wants, pulling out from data sharing agreements, or pushing back against NHS England to instead offer face-to-face
   appointments as a default.
   5.Carers notice board/ events /cafes – Julia , practice Carer Lead to contact Debbie to promote what is happening in Ealing
   to our patients. We have approx 45 patients registered as Carers.
9. Patient survey August 24 – put poster into reception and onto website to alert patients that survey will be taking place.
   Investigate is we can send this out to patients via email – Anne
10. Staff photos – clinicians photos to be taken and put into reception area for all patients to be aware of who they are seeing.
    Next meeting – date tbc Oct 24

Attending – JY EA, DW, CF, CH, PJ, BL  – PPG

Lorraine, Anne and Dr Wasan for Eastmead Surgery

Updates from PPG meeting held on Wednesday 11^th December.

Dear all, it was good to see you all last Thursday. Thank you for your feedback on the Greenwell Access Survey – I have fed back your comments to the PCN who will be collating all the PPG comments from the 7 PCN Surgeries and sending it back to North West London Integrated Care Board. I’ve attached a copy of the survey and it’s also available to all our patients on our website.

Our next meeting will be in April 25, I will send a date nearer the time. If you have any concerns between now and then please just email me.

1. Patient survey results for Greenwell PCN from recent North West London Survey on access
2. Updates from the surgery
3. Any items of concern from yourselves
4. Long term conditions – how we utilise non NHS resources.
5. CPZ proposals
6. You may be interested in the new proposed CPZ parking for Greenford –I have pasted the link below. We are concerned that whilst we are not in the CPZ zone we are only 100m from the border and feel that we will have pressures on patient parking due to people parking outside the zone on the road – it’s already difficult for patients to park. Please feel free to comment on the Ealing Council website.
7. https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201042/current_consultations/3424/new_controlled_parking_zones_in_greenford#:~:text=What%20are%20we%20proposing%20and,and%20improve%20local%20traffic%20conditions.

Attending

EA, CF, CF, PJ, BL, AC, BW and LOS

Apologies SL, DW, JY

Dear all, thank you for attending last week and for all your input. I’ve put the survey questions below and we plan to start the survey this Wednesday and it will run until the 30 June

Thank you for your suggestion regarding how we can improve equity to our non-English speaking patients – we will start looking at practice leaflets, translation of documents, phone messages, staff who are multilingual, consultation tools in different language, website audios, advertising that interpreters available and how to follow up from the Arabic mothers meet ups in July.

In keeping with trying to improve patient equity we will translate and offer the survey in Arabic,

Polish, Nepali, Somali, Urdu and Punjabi.

EA, for your information – NHS App – how to delete the App if you no longer want it.  

You can delete your account using the NHS App or website:

1. Log in.
2. Go to Account.
3. Select Contact and login details.
4. Select Login and security settings.
5. Select Delete my NHS account.

I’ve forwarded on to you all the invitations from the Greenwell PCN to either a remote or a face to face meeting to discuss the areas patient access.

We look forward to meeting up again in Sept/October 2025

Patient Survey

1. We have a new phone system – are you finding it easier to contact the surgery? – scale
2. Are you able to contact us using Econsult or via our online system? What is your barrier to using this system> – free text
3. Do you know what services are available directly from your local Pharmacies via the Pharmacy First scheme? Do you use the Pharmacy First service and if not , what are the barriers stopping you using it? – free text
4. We want to encourage more patients to use the NHS App to request prescriptions, see results, view letters etc.  Do you use the NHS App and if not, what is the barrier to using it? – free text
5. What can we do to improve communications with patients who speak a different language?  – free text

Attending

CH, DW, BL, EA, PJ, AC, BW and LOS  – Eastmead Practice

Apologies SL, CF and JY

Agenda

1. Welcome and introductions
2. GP Survey
3. Staffing changes/updates
4. New NHS contract requirements from October 1^st.
5. Carers
6. AOB

Summary

1.Updates on staffing. Dr Emma Crust back from maternity leave start of December, we talked about how Eastmead is a training practice for registrars and confirmation that our nursing team remains led by Ria.

2. GP Survey – we went through the areas that we scored lower than average on in the national GP Survey and the actions being taken. A practice survey was undertaken in August and provided more feedback. We agreed that our main actions were to encourage the use of patients to use the NHS App and to encourage where possible to use the eConsult online systems which allows for on the day triage. The other project discussed was the obtaining of patients emails so that we can correspond with them via email rather than via text when we go out with patient wide communications.

3. NHS Contract – discussed that the 3 key areas that has to be in place  from 1 October had been implemented at Eastmead.

– Doors open 8.00 – 6.30pm  – we have had this for over 5 years

– Online system available for patients to contact us via Econsult – in place since 2020

– Implement GP Connect – system allows for pharmacies to update patient records directly with care received/medications and prescriptions.  New , in place from September 25.

4. Carers – Debbie updated the group on the gardening projects in Hanwell and will liaise with Lorraine to get this onto our website and carers notice boards.

5. Heartlink – Eve updated up that the group runs activities for cardiology patients. We will get this on our website and send out via email to all our cardiology patients. The activities take place at Greenford Community Hall – Pam and Bernadine also aware of it being held at Ealing Hospital.

www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/find-bhf-near-you/heartlink-ealing

6.Eve updated the group as to the Patient and Carer Participation Group LNWH – this group covers the whole of the North West London area and covers all services, primary, secondary and community care. Eve went through the actions from their latest meeting and kindly sent through the most recent newsletter and actions from the most recent meeting. We will put the newsletter onto our website with a link if any patients want to take part.

7. We discussed radiology services at Ealing Community Diagnostics Centre and how to access these. We currently don’t refer into this service and will use hospital radiology departments. Anne will find out more and update the group if we are able to refer directly into this service.

8. Practice refurbishment – ongoing, waiting room complete.

Next meeting February 2026, date tbc