PPGs
GROUP DYNAMICS There was a good turn-out at the meeting. Twelve people were present – three men, nine women – and two apologies were made. As I expected, the majority of the group was retired, however there were some younger members in fulltime work – mainly in education. I had been told in jest beforehand by the practice manager that the group could be likened to the church committee from The Vicar of Dibley – and I have to admit, I can see where she was coming from. Every member of the group stood out in their own way, their very different characters each bringing something unique – and useful – to the table. The teachers brought method and order – with the headteacher (perhaps not surprisingly) taking the role of chair and a primary school teacher taking minutes. The group – or the ‘committee’ as they tended to refer to it – was quite meticulously split into different ‘departments’: Publicity, catering, the bookshop, storage manager, external affairs and self-help initiatives, prize- hunting and school liaison. The skillset of the group was remarkably wide-reaching, with good use made of IT expertise and corporate contacts for raffle prize purposes.
MONEY MAKERS DES aside, a patient participation group can be an additional source of income in its own right. This PPG is proof of that, with a treasurer, who reported nearly £9k in the PPG’s account. Fundraising activities like the surgery quiz, a Christmas raffle, a practice bookshop, alongside donations from patients, has allowed the group to pay for things like a new surgery couch and blood pressure monitors. The Christmas raffle alone made the practice £421 in profit. The prize-draw was ‘paperless’ – patients were given a number assigned to their name – cutting back on costs and contributing to the three-figure profit and a PPG member, who works for the Body Shop’s head office, manages to get surplus gift sets to give away as raffle prizes. The bookshop is stocked by the PPG and patients pay for books on a pay- what-you-will basis. Charity initiatives from the patients also help the community at large. One anonymous local company donated children’s Christmas presents her work colleagues, to be given to less fortunate children. One of the PPG members contacted two local schools, wrapped and distributed the gifts and reported that the
34 february 2013
recipients were extremely grateful. The practice is also planning a community open day for a future Saturday. Other charity events coming up include an Easter coffee morning, for which one of the members plans to knit toy chicks and another is liaising with a local supermarket for chocolate egg donations, as well as a car boot sale. In the spirit of democracy, the PPG plans to let patients vote for their charity of choice – animal or homeless. As part of this, they will be inviting the charities to visit the surgery to state their cause. Fundraising and getting prizes for the quiz is sometimes a challenge, particularly from major supermarkets, who won’t always respond. “It’s difficult and we’ve got to be honest about this: we’re not the most attractive charity,” one member pointed out. The member who works at the Body Shop spoke about how her company ‘adopts’ a different charity every few months and suggested St Lawrence could do the same. Although they are raising money on behalf of the surgery, the PPG is very keen on the idea of continually reaching out to other charities at the same time.
COMMUNICATION IN ACTION The group provides a welcome way to communicate with patients and acts as a sounding board for new projects and proposals. For example, the practice manager reported in the meeting that the surgery went live with its new computer system and used it as a chance to thank the patients for being, well, patient, while it was being installed. The ability to book appointments and renew prescriptions online was temporarily suspended during the changeover and consultations were a bit longer because they weren’t being monitored so strictly, but all is back and running again nearly as normal now. The practice manager also used the opportunity to inform the PPG of four new trainee doctors who would be starting over the next few months. Because they’re still in training, their consultations are half-an-hour and they will be debriefing their patient cases with their mentor GP. Another message to get across was the
importance of patients with winter bugs like Norovirus avoiding the surgery unless in an absolute emergency. The practice manager used recorded messages on the telephone system, to deter people from coming into the surgery: “Patients were sitting there for half-an-hour in the waiting room with flu
and being sick in doctors sinks with D&V [diarrhoea and vomiting].” She recalls. The phone message did the trick and patients took to requesting advice over the phone instead.
The PPG also uses a surgery newsletter as a way to communicate news like this to patients. The group’s publicity manager, who is tasked with compiling it, has proposed adding a ‘spotlight on staff’ section this year. In the meantime, the bulletin will continue to promote surgery updates to keep patients in the loop. Things like coffee mornings and walking groups are also a good way to get news out to the community, for which the PPG asks patients to donate towards the refreshments to cover the costs and ensure their sustainability.
TAKE CARE
This open communication came in handy when one group member, who sits on the board of the Self Care Forum, fed back some issues with the surgery’s ‘self-care initiative’. She proposed thinking more carefully about how to get this information to elderly patients who had trouble getting to a computer.
management
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