Get Involved Locally
Contents
GP Practice
Level
Primary Care Trust
Level
GP Practice Level
Patient Participation Groups
Practices have a duty to involve
patients when changes in the practice are made. Patient
Participation Groups (PPGs) are often the means by which patients
are involved at practice level.
As well as taking part in
discussions about practice procedures, PPGs often start
patient initiatives independently - such as
transport schemes for elderly or disabled patients or self
help groups such as weight watcher sessions.
The initiative to start a PPG
often comes from patients themselves. It may be a permanent group
meeting at regular intervals or a focus group brought
together to examine a single issue. It generally works in
partnership with the practice, but is run by
patients with decisions about aims/activities made
independently. Most PPGs register as charities.
The
National Association for Patient
Participation (NAPP) campaigns to establish
PPGs in every practice, and maintains a volunteer network of
officers who train practices in setting up Groups in their
locality. NAPP publishes an information pack called
Setting Up A
Patient Participation Group in a GP
Surgery.
National Association for Patient Participation
FREEPOST (SEA 14774)
Aston
Sheffield
S26 2ZZ
Tel: 0114-287-4035
Patient Experience Questionnaires
The vast majority of practices
consider the views of patients by asking them to complete
patient experience questionnaires. This creates an opportunity for
practices to assess patients’ views, and be alerted to strengths
and weaknesses in their set-up. The practice is financially
rewarded for (a) conducting questionnaires (b) analysing results,
and (c) using these to influence positive changes in
procedure.
Questionnaires will be either
administered by post, or after consultations in the surgery. They
allow patients to comment on numerous aspects of their care
including:
- Physical environment.
- Convenience and accessibility of
services.
- Practice/patient
relationship.
- Helpfulness of support staff.
- Appropriateness and timeliness of
the whole episode of care.
Please ask your local surgery
about their questionnaire arrangements. Details of the two
accredited questionnaires can be found below:
Starting in 2006 a new
national patient experience survey will be conducted in general
practices in England. The survey results will provide a
measure of practices’ achievements in delivering improved access to
services and offering a choice of secondary care provider when
referring patients to hospital.
Primary Care Trust Level
Patient and Public Involvement Forums
Patients can play an active role
in health-related decision making within their communities by
joining a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum. PPI Forums
are connected to each Primary Care Trust (PCT) in England,
and have a number of roles, including:
- Obtaining views from local
communities about health services.
- Making reports and recommendations
on the range and delivery of health services.
- Influencing the design of and
access to NHS services.
- Providing advice and information
to patients and their carers about services.
- Monitoring the effectiveness of
local Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS).
Members of PPI Forums are
provided with training and development opportunities to enable them
to participate effectively. Anyone can apply to be a member,
irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or
religion. Further information is available from:
Make Time for Health
7th Floor, 120 Edmund Street
Birmingham
B3 2ES
Recruitment Line: 0845 120 7115
Under new Government proposals
the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH)
and patient forums will be abolished and local involvement networks
(LINks) will be established for every local authority area. These
networks will be able to provide flexible ways for communities to
engage with health and social care organisations in ways that best
suit the communities and the people in them. Further information on
the establishment of LINks can be found in the DH document
A
Stronger Local Voice.
Patient Advice and Liaison Services
(PALS)
Within PCTs Patient Advice and
Liaison Services (PALS) provide information and confidential
advice to patients, and are a focal point for feedback from
patients.
It is important that patients
relay their concerns and ideas to PALS as this data is used by
Trusts to monitor trends and gaps in services. PALS also supply
information on how patients can get more involved in their own
healthcare and the NHS locally.
Although not part of the NHS
complaints procedure, PALS are often able to help resolve any minor
problems that patients are having with their NHS primary care
without making a formal complaint. For full guidance on the formal
NHS complaints system and support/advice services see the
Complaining or Commenting on
Services section in
Your Surgery.