NI PiP Group Launched

Dr Alasdair McDonnell MP MLA hosted the launch of the ‘Patient in Practice Group’ (PiP) on 29^th January at Parliament Buildings Stormont. This group is an affiliate of the Royal College of General Practitioners and aims to act as the ‘voice of the patient’ on all matters concerning its Council.

The group comprises of 6 Lay members and 2 GPs and was established in November 2007. The group will develop and run its own initiatives to help GP Practices to include the views of their patients in the work that they do. The notion of a Patient group is not a new concept to the RCGP and has had such a group in establishment since 1983 in England and 1998 in Scotland. Northern Ireland is now following on from the work of these groups by establishing ‘PiP’ and hopes to emulate their success.

The importance of the Patient Voice in General Practice is invaluable in helping the GP to see issues and challenges from a different perspective and thus achieving better solutions.

Dr McDonnell said: “Having worked as a GP for many years, I know how important it is that GPs work in partnership with patients to improve services. PiP provides a vital platform for patients in Northern Ireland to make their valuable contribution to the development and delivery of GP services. 

The PiP group is managed through the local RCGP Northern Ireland Council office and as a result will be able to address and assist with local Primary care issues and to make a difference to the work of the Council. The group will be managed by the College’s Project Manager Nuala Foley who stated:

“I am delighted to be involved with this group and look forward to seeing it develop. The group will provide the local College Council with a channel to engage in a two way dialogue with patients and to share best practice and information. Along with the Lay representation we have two GPs on the group, who by giving of their time and efforts display the value that they place on patient involvement. This launch at Stormont has given us the opportunity to let the government, department of health and general practice patients know that RCGP Northern Ireland has this resource available.”

The launch was attended by various people interested in Patient Involvement including several MLAs, the Permenant Secretary for the department of health Dr Andrew McCormick and representatives from the health boards and local commissioning groups.

For more information on the members of the PiP Group

For further information contact:

Nuala Foley, Project Manager, RCGP, Belfast

Tel: 028 90 230055

Email: nfoley@rcgp.org.uk