Bridgnorth Medical Practice
Patient Participation Group
Minutes of the meeting held on Monday 9th January 2012
at 6pm at the Medical Practice
Present at meeting were: Eddie Conner [Chair] Diane Marshall [Practice Manager] Jackie Rogers [Patient Service Manager] Dr. Mike Magill, Suzanne Lawler [Minutes] Cecelia Walden, Tim O’Brien, Jeremy Roberts, Chris Garside, Peter Barclay, Michael Teague, Sarah Spillsbury, David Baker, Ann Clark, Meg Marshall, Steve Robbins.
1. There were no apologies. Eddie Conner welcomed Steve Robbins, a new member, to the group.
2. Matters arising from the previous minutes. Diane Marshall said that she had had lots of extra help with the telephone service and was grateful for the input of the group.
3. There had been a meeting of the Shropshire Patients Group on 13th December 2011. The Long
Term Conditions Project had been discussed. This is an initiative from the Strategic Health Authority with patient input to enable the patient to manage their conditions at home with help. Respiratory and high blood pressure conditions were considered to be the conditions that would most easily benefit. A workshop was available. Diane had attended a seminar which had had good feedback.
The Any Qualified Provider questionnaire had had limited response. Mike Teague and Peter Barclay will go to the meeting on 12th January run by Paul Haycox and Karen Higgins to find out more.
A&E leaflets – 2,400 had been delivered to the surgery. 800 had gone to Murrays for distribution with the prescriptions and more to Boots and Specsavers. Some had been put through doors and others given to playgroups and schools.
Code of Conduct – This has been drawn up by the Shropshire Commissioning group and the Shropshire Patients group and has been distributed to members. It is designed to provide a level playing field between professional and voluntary perspectives.
Calendar of County group meetings – The next meeting is on 17th January and will occur every two months from now on. There will be two networking meetings on 28th March and 3rd October.
4. South East Locality Patients Group met on 29th November 2011. Eddie Conner and Chris Garside attend these meetings. The group is still in the process of organising itself and still has to elect a chairman and secretary. Dr. Stanford gave a talk about the commissioning group which comprises 15 practices with one GP and a Practice Manager from each practice attending and at present just one patient. This was not considered enough patient representation. The next meeting is on 16th January 2012.
5. Shropshire Links Update – Cecelia [controller for the Link] introduced the new organisation now called Shropshire Links which will be the local Healthwatch now that CINCH no longer exists. The main task is “Enter and View” enabling trained volunteers to enter any care service provider and investigate any issues that are flagged up. A report is sent to the Care Quality Commission who should act on the findings. The organisation needs more volunteers to train and help with the administration. Some experience with health care is welcomed, but not essential.
6. Telephone Survey – Diane Marshall reported on the progress of the telephone survey. Volunteers have conducted interviews using a questionnaire. There have been 81 responses from the website and 35 face to face so far. In the next 2 weeks the results will be analysed. A meeting has been arranged on 26th January.
7. Practice Manager Update – Diane Marshall reported on changes coming in the Practice. There are ongoing issues with the nurse team with 1 on maternity leave and 2 on sick leave so there may be some problems in the next 2 or 3 weeks.
Dr Goodall finishes at the end of January and will be replaced by Dr. Tindall.
Dr Seeley will be part time from Easter and Dr. Yeuill is leaving in May. The Practice is currently recruiting a full time Doctor to cover these hours.
Dr. Martin is retiring later in the year. Dr. Jones is on maternity leave covered by a locum.
8. Any other business – Eddie Conner asked for secretarial assistance and Suzanne Lawler agreed to take this on. He also asked members to consider taking on the Chairmanship as he is taking an extended holiday in Australia later this year and would like to step down.
A question was asked about the take up of the flu injections. They were up 4% on last year, but this was still not considered good enough by the DOH. Another question was asked about bird flu and Dr. Magill said it was not a problem unless it crosses over to humans in the manner of swine flu. There were no reported cases this year.
A comment from Suzanne Lawler about an elderly patient who had become confused over conflicting advice from 5 doctors on 5 consecutive days in the MIU was considered and the practice would like the details in writing so they can investigate further.
Meg Marshall wished to make it known that the digital display in the surgery was not visible to some patients and there were no verbal announcements any more. Dr Magill said that most doctors came out of their rooms to call patients, but that they would look into it.
9. Date of next meeting – Monday 20th February 2012 at 6pm at the Practice.