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MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, 11th
DECEMBER 2008
Present:
Alan Mackim (Chair), David Sanders (Vice Chair), Ken Walton
(Foxley),
John Mallen (Bawdeswell), Jean St. Clair
(Gressenhall), Jim Eagle (Gressenhall),
Kate Wyatt (North Elmham), Phil Astley(Gressenhall),
Ted Sansom (Secretary &
Worthing)
From
the Practice: Dr. S. Hibberd
1.
Apologies For Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Ann Adeney, Anne Cleverley
and Roger
Thorneley
2.
Minutes of the Last Meeting
The
Minutes of the last meeting of the Elmham PPG, held on Thursday, 9th
October
2008 were approved.
3.
Matters Arising
3.1
‘Unique Care’ – Progress
The Chairman opened discussion on this item by inviting Dr.
Hibberd to outline the aims and purposes of the ‘Unique Care’
programme. Dr. Hibberd explained that the idea of ‘Unique Care’ had
first been introduced in Runcorn, Cheshire and in simple terms
enabled GP Practices to have a dedicated Social Worker attached to
the Practice, whose case load was solely related to the patients of
that particular Practice, so enabling greater and more efficient
monitoring of a patient’s welfare e.g. home circumstances, support
systems etc. It was particularly useful in providing a direct link
between the Practice and a hospital prior to a patient being
discharged following hospitalisation, so ensuring that the
discharged patient had sufficient support available when returning
home.
results would flow from its implementation. He further
confirmed that the Practice had been told that, unlike before when
such a scheme had been introduced and the “rug pulled from under the
feet” in a short space of time, the scheme would persist for a
minimum period of one year; by which time the beneficial results
would, hopefully, allow for it to become a permanent feature of the
Practice’s operations.
3.2. Reception Staffing
Dr. Hibberd stated that the reception staff numbers had
recently increased by 2 No. and enquired whether the members present
could say whether there had been any noticeable improvement in
telephone answering. John Mallen stated that his recent experience
had been very satisfactory with the Surgery telephone being answered
promptly and efficiently. As far as a re-design of the Surgery
Reception Area was concerned, Dr. Hibberd said that no further
progress had been made on this matter and that there was a slight
difference of opinion between the Partners of the Practice as to
whether a re-design was either necessary or desirable.
3.3. End-of-Life Care
be discussed at the PPG Meeting. Dr. Hibberd was
asked to outline the procedures in place at the North Elmham
Practice regarding End-of-Life Care. He stated that there was a big
element of forward planning in the Surgery’s approach so that when a
patient reached the palliative care stage he/she could be expected
to be treated with dignity and ongoing care from whatever sources
were available. Essential to the whole process was the patient’s
wishes i.e. did they wish to remain at home or would they rather be
hospitalised or in a hospice? If the patient preferred to remain at
home were there sufficient support services available not only for
the patient but also for those relatives/friends taking care of the
patient? All these matters were taken into account when considering
End-of-Life care.
In reply to a question, Dr. Hibberd confirmed that those
providing the Out-of-Hours service would be aware of those patients
who were in receipt of End-of-Life care.
4.
Practice/Group Items
4.1
Home Care Project
Unfortunately, progress was slow on this particular item and
in consequence there was little to report. Dr. Hibberd made
reference to the huge amount of paperwork and bureaucracy that stood
in the way of speeding up the process. However, he confirmed that
the Practice had been offered a loan to finance the project – so it
was not all bad news!
4.2 Christmas Planning
It was noted that the Surgery would close on
Christmas Eve and re-open for normal hours on Monday, 29th
December. Obviously, the period before Christmas was normally a very
busy time with patients endeavouring to arrange appointments prior
to the Christmas break; with the improvements made to the
telephone/reception procedures it was hoped that patients would find
it easier to book appointments etc.
4.3
Appointments Procedure
As mentioned above, the Practice had taken steps to improve
the appointments procedure so that patients did not have to wait too
long in order to consult with a doctor of their choice. Dr. Hibberd
confirmed that the Practice adopted a policy of having blank slots
each day, whereby a patient could arrange to have a ‘same day’
appointment although this might not be with a doctor of their
choice. In reply to a question about extended hours, Dr. Hibberd
made reference to the fact that the ‘early opening’ hours at Swanton
Morley Surgery had been in place for some time now. Reference was
made by members present to the recent distribution by NHS Norfolk of
the leaflet entitled “GP Services in your Area”. The Practice
considered that this was an attempt by NHS Norfolk to force GP
Practices to operate ‘their’ hours without any consideration to the
particular circumstances pertaining to individual Practices. Phil
Astley considered that the listing of Practices that were operating
extended hours was unfortunate since it did not include the North
Elmham Surgery and people were bound to ask “if it can be done
there, why can’t it be done here” Dr. Hibberd assured the meeting
that the North Elmham Practice would conform with NHS Guidelines
with regard to this matter.
4.4 The Partnership
Dr. Hibberd reported on the appointment of a new Partner to
the Practice which, was a result of Dr. Strickland’s impending
retirement in the Spring of 2009. The appointment had been made
following a number of interviews. The new Partner had practised for
some years in West Sussex & Surrey.
5. Members Items
Jean
St. Clair raised an issue that had been brought to her attention by
a Gressenhall patient who had attended the Surgery at Litcham and
had queried whether her patient notes would have been available to
the Litcham Surgery.
David
Sanders spoke about the detrimental effect the possible loss of the
pharmacy would have on patients at the North Elmham Practice. Dr.
Hibberd reported that there had been 60,000 comments made to the
Government's White Paper on this matter. The consensus of opinion
within the Elmham PPG being that the loss of the pharmacy at the
Practice would not be in patients’ interests and that the Government
were looking to impose urban solutions to rural problems.
6. Any Other Business
There
being no other business to transact the Meeting was closed with a
vote of thanks to the Chair.
7.
Date of Next Meeting
The
next Meeting of the Elmham PPG will be held on
Thursday, 12th February 2009 at Elmham School
commencing at 7.30 p.m.
Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, 13th December 2007
Present:
Alan Mackim (Chairman), David Sanders (Vice
Chairman & Whissonsett),
Kate Wyatt (North Elmham), Ann Adeney
(Broom Green), John Mallen
(Bawdeswell), Ann Cleverley (Horningtoft),
Jim Eagle (Gressenhall),
Phil Astley (Gressenhall), Ken Walton
(Foxley), Ted Sansom (Secretary &
Worthing).
From the Practice:
Dr. S. Hibberd
1.
Apologies For Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Jean
Purchase and Jean St. Clair
2. Minutes of the Meeting held
on 9th August 2007
Because of a power cut which interrupted the meeting
held on Thursday, 11th October 2007, the PPG had not been able to
transact any business on that occasion. In consequence, the Minutes
of the meeting held on 9th August 2007 had not been approved; the
Chairman asked all present whether they could now be formally
approved and this was unanimously agreed.
3. Matters Arising
3.1
Hospital Discharge Plans
Dr. Hibberd reported that there was not much
happening on this front. He confirmed that the Norfolk & Norwich
Hospital authorities were very keen to set up a system of greater
communication between the Hospital and local GP Practices when
patients are discharged from hospital but, for some unknown reason,
the matter had gone off the boil. Discussion took place about this
state of affairs, which seemed to lack any continuity i.e. sometimes
the system worked but at other times it failed miserably. It was
unsatisfactory when patients were being discharged from hospital
with the Elmham Practice, or any GP Practice for that matter, being
unaware of their discharge.
3.2 Practice Telephone
System
Dr. Hibberd stated that the Practice were acutely
aware of the continuing shortcomings in the Practice telephone
system. The Practice had recently made a new appointment and that
Sandra Butler would be taking up the position of Practice
Administration Manager? sometime in January and that the telephone
system would be an area of priority for her to tackle. However, Dr.
Hibberd felt that it would be at least six months before any real
improvement would be noticed. Discussion of this problem included
the following points, which might help to alleviate the present
difficulties and/or assist in a solution for the future
-
Pharmacy questions can be left on an answer phone
-
Advertise the Swanton Morley Surgery telephone
number more widely
-
Have a direct line to deal with specific problems
e.g. influenza outbreaks etc. etc.
3.3 Location of
Stroke Beds
Dr, Hibberd was unable to advise the meeting of the
PCT’s intentions in this matter simply because no decisions had been
reached. Seemingly, the PCT were still forming their policy and
future plans for intermediate care.
3.4 Swanton Morley
‘Early Start Appointments’
It was noted that the trial conducted at Swanton
Morley Surgery on
‘Early Start Appointments’ had been successful and
would be continued.
The PCT were enthusiastic about Practices adopting
‘special hours’ for
appointments and were pleased with the progress being
made within the
Elmham Group.
4. Practice Items
Dr. Hibberd referred to the results of the recent
Patient Survey that had been undertaken and a general discussion
took place concerning these results. It was noted and agreed that
the results were satisfactory in general; in some areas there had
been an improvement on previous surveys and in other areas a
worsening. However, it was generally agreed that much depended upon
the way each question is phrased and that everybody reads the
question differently.
5.
Members Items
General discussion took place about the Pharmacy and
some members stated that even though they had given 48 hours notice
of their requirement for a repeat prescription, there were occasions
when the prescription still had not been available. The problem of
queuing for prescriptions had been solved but other problems i.e.
that mentioned above, seemed to be arising. It was difficult to
pinpoint the reason for this but Dr. Hibberd confirmed that Sandra
Butler’s remit would also include responsibility for the smooth
functioning of the Pharmacy
The Secretary enquired whether any members would
prefer to receive communications via e-mail rather than hard copy
and if so, then they should let him have their e-mail addresses
after the meeting.
The Secretary reported that he had not yet finalised
the 2008 Meeting Dates with the Elmham School Secretary but that
these would be included when the Minutes of the meeting were
distributed.
6.
Any Other Business
There being no other business to transact, the
meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chair.
7.
Date Of Next Meeting
The next Meeting of the Elmham Patient Participation
Group will be held on Thursday, 14th February 2008 at
Elmham School commencing at 7.30 p.m.
2008 Meeting Dates
Thursday, 14th February
Thursday, 14th August
Thursday, 10th
April Thursday, 9thOctober
Thursday, 12th
June Thursday, 11th December
Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, 11th October 2007
Present: Alan Mackim (Chairman), David Sanders (Vice
Chairman & Whissonsett), Jim Eagle (Gressenhall), Jean Purchase (Swanton Morley),
Phil Astley (Gressenhall), Roger Thorneley (Worthing), Jean St.
Clair (Gressenhall), Ted Sansom (Secretary & Worthing)
From the Practice:
Dr P J Strickland & Penny Louch
1.
Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Ann Adeney and John Mallen
and Ken Walton.
2.
Out of Hours Care
The Chairman introduced Dr. Nick Morton,
Assistant Medical Director of the East of England Ambulance
Service who had been invited to address the meeting on the
subject of Out of Hours Care.
Dr Morton thanked the Chairman for affording him
the opportunity to meet with the Elmham Patient Group and
proceeded to give an informative talk on the East of England
Ambulance Service in general and the Out of Hours Care service
it was contracted to supply in particular. A lively and
interesting discussion then ensured between PPG members and Dr.
Morton.
Unfortunately, a disruption to the power supply
occurred at approx. 8pm and although this did not cause Dr
Morton to abandon his presentation, discussion continuing by
dint of the school emergency lighting system, it was not
possible to conduct any further business on completion of Dr.
Morton's talk The Chairman thanked Dr Morton for his
presentation.
3. Date of Next Meeting
The
next meeting of the Elmham Patient Participation Group will be held on
Thursday, 13th December 2007 in North Elmham School commencing at 7.30 p.m.
Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, 9th August 2007
Present:
Alan Mackim (Chairman), David Sanders (Vice
Chairman & Whissonsett), Ken Walton (Foxley), Jim Eagle
(Gressenhall), Ann Cleverley (Horningtoft), Phil Astley
(Gressenhall), Jean Purchase (Swanton Morley), Kate Wyatt
(North Elmham), Jean St.Clair (Gressenhall), Ted Peachment
(Chairman, Swanton Morley Group), Maggie Richards (Vice
Chair Swanton Morley Group)
From the Practice:
Dr. S. Hibberd, Penny Louch, Judith
Woods, and Mandy Buck
1.
Apologies for Absence
Ap Apologies for absence were received from Ann Adeney and John Mallen.
2.
Minutes of the Last Meeting
The Minutes of the last meeting of the Elmham PPG held on
Thursday, 14th June 2007 were approved.
3.
Matters Arising
(i)
Ultrasound
Trial
The meeting
commenced with the good news that the Ultrasound Trial would
continue. Judith Woods explained that the problems relating to this
matter (see previous Minutes) had been resolved and that, although a
final meeting was to be held next Thursday i.e. 16th
August 2007, to completely finalise the arrangement, it was fully
expected that the Ultrasound equipment would be in use again with
effect from September 2007. As before, this equipment would be used
for patients with NR20 or NR19 postcodes.
(ii)
Care of Patients Discharged from Hospital
Judith Woods gave an explanation of what the Practice was
trying to achieve in ensuring that a patient’s discharge from
hospital was actively and sensitively managed. Now that the Practice
no longer had the services of a dedicated Social Worker at its
disposal, the Practice was undoubtedly “feeling the pinch”. However,
everything
was being done to ensure that hospital discharges were planned e.g.
the Practice held weekly “referral meetings” where patients’
progress through the hospital system was carefully monitored.
In reply to a
question from the Chairman about the personal care of patients in
general, not necessarily those recently discharged from hospital,
Judith Woods agreed that this formed part of the holistic approach
to Practice Based Commissioning and that sometimes the personal care
factor i.e. feeding, washing etc. got missed. The Practice always
endeavoured to work closely with Social Services on such matters.
(iii) Dispensary Practice
The Chairman
welcomed Mandy Buck to the meeting and before inviting her to speak
about the problems faced by the staff working in the Dispensary, he
gave an outline of the perceived failings in the
Dispensary service. Ken Walton stated that he felt that the Chairman
was being overly critical and that in his opinion most people were
appreciative of the overall Dispensary service.
In response, Mandy
Buck outlined some of the difficulties experienced by Dispensary
staff in trying to provide an efficient service. For example, the
Chairman had mentioned in his opening comments that there was an
inordinate amount of “fiddling with paper” but Mandy explained that
this was a legal requirement and could not be dispensed with (no pun
intended!), it was perhaps unfortunate that this took place in front
of the patient who was not expected to understand the reason for it.
She outlined what had been achieved to improve the service e.g.
ordering via the website; home deliveries for those unable to get
into the Surgery; the second counter; the numbering system etc.
In reply to a
question as to what single thing patients could do to assist the
Dispensary staff, Mandy replied that adhering to the 48 hour rule
would solve many problems and that if patients would not leave the
re-ordering of prescriptions until the very last moment, so much
time could be saved.
Judith Woods
explained that the Surgery were trying to recruit a qualified
Pharmacist to commence in September, the previous Pharmacist having
left to live and work in Surrey. The Pharmacist is of great
assistance to the Practice doctors and nurse prescribers, advising
on the latest drug and medication availability and to help and
assist in carrying out reviews of patient prescriptions etc.
(iv) Practice
Telephone System
Judith Woods gave a
brief summary of the recent improvements that had been made to the
Surgery’s telephone system and invited comments from Members present
on their experiences with telephoning into the Surgery. There was
general agreement that there had been noticeable improvements of
late, although Jim Eagle quoted a recent experience of his where a
recorded message kept telling him “we know you are there” when
clearly his call was not being dealt with. Judith stated that they
were aware of this particular fault and the matter was being
remedied. Ways and means of improving the Surgery’s telephone system
were constantly being sought.
4.
Practice Items
(i)
Drug Costs – Changes in Prescribing
Dr. Hibberd advised the meeting of the changes that
were taking place in the prescribing of drugs and medication. He
emphasised the fact that there was a moral and ethical duty to
prescribe drugs that were not only clinically better but also
cheaper. He understood the nervousness there might be among some
patients who were now being prescribed drugs that appeared to be
different from what they were used to but wished to assure everybody
that, every effort was being made to explain to patients the need
and reasons behind these changes.
ii) PCT Contracts
It was noted that the Out of Hours contract had been awarded
to Anglia Medical Care with effect from 20th August next.
The Out of Hours contract would effectively operate between the
hours of 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. The hope was expressed that Anglia
Medical Care would operate this new Out of Hours contract as
efficiently as they had done in the past. David Sanders advised that
he was informed that, a doctor on the phone would carry out Triage.
Dr. Hibberd explained the difference between a PMS
type practice and a GMS type practice.
Discussion took place concerning the availability of
community beds and the fact that North Norfolk seemed to have a
disproportionate amount of these. The loss of community beds meant
that greater pressure was placed on bed availability at the NNUH
Penny Louch referred to the pilot scheme that was taking
place at Swanton Morley Surgery with the provision of an Early Start
appointment system.
5.Group Items
Swanton Morley Group
The Chairman
welcomed Ted Peachment and Maggie Richards from the Swanton Morley
Group and hoped that there could be regular contact between the two
PPGs.
In reply Ted
Peachment reciprocated the invitation to anyone in the Elmham PPG to
attend meetings at Swanton Morley. The Swanton Morley members had
nothing to table at this meeting.
6.
Members Items
Ann Adeney had tabled two items relating to the Dispensary.
The first related to a computer failure and inability to obtain
medication during such failure periods and the second related to the
non-availability of drugs when being discharged from hospital.
Concerning the first, Judith Woods advised that power failure at the
Surgery created all sorts of problems, not least the Dispensary’s
ability to dispense medicines. Dr. Hibberd advised that the Practice
was actively considering the installation of a power generator to
overcome these problems when they occurred. With regard to the
availability of drugs for patients discharged from hospital, this
was partly discussed under Item 3 (ii) above, however patients
discharged from hospital are normally given a letter detailing their
drug requirements and should be released with a quantity of drugs
sufficient to get them through their initial release days.
Everything was done to ensure that patients’ medication requirements
were catered for on being discharged from hospital.
Kate Wyatt gave the meeting an update on the provision of
wheelchair access to the Surgery, which would be undertaken during
the period of works now in progress in the Holt Road at North
Elmham. Although the solution was not ideal, it was the best that
could be achieved given the engineering difficulties.
7.
Any other Business
There being no
other business to transact, the meeting was closed and a vote of
thanks expressed to the Chairman.
8.
Date of Next Meeting
The date of the next meeting of the Elmham PPG will be on Thursday,
11th October 2007 at Elmham School commencing at 7.30
p.m.
Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, 14th
June 2007
Present: Alan Mackim (Chairman), Jean Purchase (Swanton Morley), David
Sanders (Vice Chairman & Whissonsett), John Mallen (Bawdeswell), Jim Eagle
(Gressenhall), Ann Adeney (Broom Green), Phil Astley (Gressenhall), Anne
Cleverley (Horningtoft), Kate Wyatt (North Elmham), Roger Thorneley (Worthing),
Wendy Money (Bawdeswell), Gerald Ives (Bawdeswell), Ted Sansom (Group Secretary
& Worthing), Jan Turner (Swanton Morley)
From the Practice: Dr. P. Strickland
David Sanders announced that the
Chairman, Alan Mackim, would be delayed in arriving but that he (David Sanders)
would act as Chairman until Alan Mackim’s arrival.
Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received
from Ingrid Floering-Blackman, Ken Walton, Ted Peachment (Swanton Morley Group
Chairman) and Penny Louch
Minutes of the Last Meeting
The Minutes of the last meeting of
the Elmham PPG, held on Thursday, 12th April 2007 were approved.
Matters Arising
Jean Purchase stated that she had
been wrongly quoted under Item 5 on page 3 of the previous Minutes and that in
fact she was not in favour of the Swanton Morley Group adopting a
Committee format. The Secretary apologised for this error and assured Jean that
a correction would appear in the next Minutes.
1.1
Ultrasound Trial
Dr. Strickland reported that the
three-month Ultrasound Trial was due to expire at the end of June 2007. The
trial had proved successful, as far as the Practice was concerned. There had
been some tension however, between the Radiology Dept. at the N & N Hospital and
the PCT, resulting in some inertia about what was going to happen at the end of
the trial period.
1.2
Practice Based Commissioning
Dr. Strickland gave an up date on the
current situation relating to this matter. He was sorry to report that little
progress was being made and that the relationship between the Practice and the
PCT was at an all time low.
The Hospital Trust are planning to
stop ‘following up’ on cases once they are discharged from hospital and the PCT
are refusing to fund these cases from their budget. In consequence little
progress is being made in three key areas: -
The Practice was still fully
committed to providing the best possible care for its patients and considered
that this was best achieved via the Practice Based Commissioning route. Dr.
Hibberd had been invited to talk to a hospital based Group, in order to promote
a better understanding of the problems relating to this sensitive area of
patient health care. It was to be hoped that by continuing the dialogue, a
satisfactory solution could be found
3.3.
Out of Hours Contract
Dr. Strickland reported that the Out
of Hours Contract had been awarded to
Anglia Medical Care. The good news
was that this Company had previously held the contract and had performed well.
There was a possibility that the out
of hours facility at Dereham could be lost and moved to Norwich but it was not
yet clear how this would go. It was noted that the decision on this matter would
be made within the next couple of weeks and that if members had a strong view on
this matter, they should write to Gail Thurston at the PCT, the Manager
responsible for patient care matters.
The Chairman also referred members to
meetings being arranged by the PCT to explain their proposals concerning out of
hours facilities. There would be a meeting at Swaffham in June and at Dereham in
July
Discussion moved on to the matter of
out of hours and weekend pharmacy provision in Dereham. Some members expressed
concern that this facility might
disappear from Dereham altogether,
there being an unconfirmed report that Boots had already made the decision not
to provide an out of hours and weekend service.
At this juncture, Alan Mackim arrived
and took over the Chair from David Sanders
Group Items
1.3
Planning for Road Closure in North Elmham
With effect from Monday 23rd
July 2007, there will be a road closure in North Elmham, which meant that
patients would not be able to gain access to the Surgery from either end of the
village, other than on foot, for a number of weeks. A long discussion ensued on
this matter, the main points are summarised below
Could temporary parking arrangements
be made either at the Cricket Pavilion and/or the Kings Head?
Swanton Morley Surgery would play an
important role during this period both from the point of view of appointments
and prescription collection.
Although it was recognised that the
collapsed sewer in North Elmham needed urgent attention, concern was expressed
that there was little apparent recognition of the problems this would create for
people who could only attend North Elmham Surgery by car or for emergency
services wanting to gain access. The hope was expressed that once the contractor
for the work was named, some discussion could take place to ameliorate these
problems e.g. could the contractor work longer hours to shorten the contract
time?
4.2. Wheelchair Access to Surgery
Kate
Wyatt up dated the meeting on the progress being made with improving the
wheelchair access from the public highway to the Surgery premises, this work
would be put in hand, subject to an engineer’s report that it would not cause
damage to the foundation of the next-door neighbour’s wall. The new proposals
included for the provision of a pedestrian crossing.
5.
Practice Items
5.1
Dispensary
Dr. Strickland began the discussion
under this item by stating that the Practice was aware that the Dispensary
facility was not a good service and that everybodyat the Surgery was trying to
adopt a more flexible approach to some of the problems relating to the operation
of the Dispensary. One area for clarification was the need to tighten up on the
loose interpretation of the 48-hour rule.
Some problems were caused by
‘manufacturing’ difficulties i.e. the changing in colour and shape of many
medications; the sourcing of a particular brand of medication and the obtaining
of stock. Members expressed bemusement at the apparent "hunt and search" methods
employed by the dispensary staff and although this was perhaps a lack of
understanding of the difficulties facing the dispensary staff, nonetheless it
created a bad impression in the eyes of the patient standing at the dispensary
‘window’
Dr. Strickland felt that it would be
a good idea to have a senior member of the dispensary staff present at a PPG
Meeting, so that patient concerns and the problems facing the dispensary staff,
could be aired.
The Practice was anxious to provide a
gold standard Pharmacy.
5.2
Surgery Telephone System
Dr. Strickland reported that there
had been a thorough review of the Surgery’s
telephone system and he produced a
number of charts to illustrate the areas which had come under scrutiny. The
exercise had revealed one elementary flaw, which had now been rectified and that
the subsequent statistics had shown a big improvement. He urged members to
report any difficulties they, or other patients, experienced with the Practice
telephone system, for it was only by good feed back that the Surgery staff
became aware of such problems.
6.
Members Items
Jean Purchase gave a brief report on
the Swanton Morley Group. It was noted that, although the North Elmham Group
sent a copy of their Minutes to the Swanton Morley Group, this was not
reciprocated. Both members of the Swanton Morley Group present, undertook to
raise this matter at their next meeting.
7.
Any Other Business
There being no other business to
transact, the meeting was closed with a vote of thanks to the Chair.
8. Date of Next Meeting
The
next meeting of the Elmham Patient Participation Group will be held on
Thursday,
9th August 2007 in North Elmham School commencing at 7.30 p.m.
Future Meetings (all in
Elmham School)
11th October
13th December
.
Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, 12th
April 2007
Present: Alan Mackim (Chairman), Jean Purchase (Swanton
Morley), David Sanders (Vice Chairman & Whissonsett), John Mallen
(Bawdeswell), Ken Walton (Foxley), Jim Eagle (Gressenhall), Phil
Astley (Gressenhall), Ted Sansom (Secretary & Worthing)
From the Practice: Dr. P. Strickland & Penny Louch.
-
Apologies For Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Kate Wyatt.
-
Minutes of the Last Meeting
Those present approved the Minutes of the last
meeting held on Thursday, 22ndFebruary, 2007
3.
Matters Arising
Ken Mallen referred to Item 6.3 in the previous Minutes
concerning the distribution of the Agenda prior to PPG Meetings. He wished
to add his voice in support of this and considered that it would enable
members to come better prepared to the meetings. Dr. Strickland also felt
that posting a copy of the Agenda in the Surgery waiting area in advance of
the meeting might encourage more people to take an interest in the PPG’s
affairs. The Chairman undertook to discuss this matter in further detail
with the Secretary in order that the Agenda could be distributed prior to
the meeting
It was generally agreed that the telephone system at the
Surgery had greatly improved, making it much easier for callers to get
through. Dr. Strickland stated that the staff at the Surgery had responded
very well and it was pleasing to learn that their efforts had resulted in a
better service to patients.
The reserved parking layout for disabled drivers had been
changed which should make it easier for them to park. It was noted however,
that on road parking had increased of late and some members were critical of
the few drivers who parked without any consideration for others.
Dr. Strickland stated that ultrasound equipment had been in
operation at Swanton Morley since February 2007, and although appointments
to use this equipment were still controlled by the Norfolk & Norwich
Hospital, waiting times for patients within postcode areas NR20 & NR19 had
been reduced by approx one third, to something like 4-6 weeks.
Penny Louch reported that prescription re-ordering, via the
Surgery’s website, had now been restored to the Home Page
4. Practice
Developments
4.1. Dr. Strickland outlined the current situation relating
to “practice-based commissioning”. Unfortunately, due to a lack of
continuity within the PCT, the concept of “practice-based commissioning” was
falling apart and it was with regret that he had to report that it seemed
that most Norfolk Practices had disengaged from the process. Elmham Surgery
was still keen to foster the idea and was continuing to liaise with
like-minded GPs at surgeries in Litcham and Thetford. At the moment
therefore, it would appear that there was no prospect of this scheme moving
forward.
4.2. The Chairman questioned whether the cut backs being
asked for by the PCT would adversely affect the Out-of-Hours service
currently in operation; it was too early to say whether this would be the
case but it was certainly a matter for concern.
4.3. Dr. Strickland reported on the latest position in
relation to the deployment of a dedicated social worker for the Practice;
this had been partially successful even though the person concerned was
still not completely under the Practice’s control i.e. she still had to
report to her Duty Manager within the Social Services Dept.
4.4. It was noted that the PCT were holding a number of “Drop
In” workshops throughout the County, including one to be held at the
Memorial Hall, Dereham, where members of the public could question and
express their view direct to the PCT, on issues relating to healthcare in
Norfolk.
4.5. In reply to a question, Dr. Strickland confirmed that
the Elmham Practice ensured that, when one of the Practice doctors is away
due to holidays, sickness etc., then another doctor would cover for them.
4.6. Penny Louch reported that the Practice were in the planning stage of
forming Obesity Group. Such a Group would exist to provide advice on
dietary and fitness regimes, as well as provide a forum for those suffering
from obesity problems. She welcomed any views that the members of the PPG
might have on this matter. There were no strong views for or against this
proposal. However, it was generally felt that the recognition by the
sufferer of obesity, was the biggest hurdle to overcome if such a Group is
to be successful.
4.7. Dr. Strickland stated that the Quality Practice Award currently held by
the Practice was due to expire in 2009 and that it was the intention of the
Practice to submit itself for another award. He briefly explained that this
prestigious award, granted by the Royal College of General Practitioners,
sets quality standards for clinical care; health and safety and a structure
for Practice Managers to work towards. All present wished the Practice well
in their endeavours to secure the granting of this award.
5. Members Items
Jean Purchase reported on the Swanton Morley Patient
Participation Group. She was of the opinion that the Swanton Morley Group
should hold an AGM and adopt more of a Committee format for its proceedings.
The Chairman raised the question of membership of the North Elmham Group. He
considered that the Group badly needed more female representation and
perhaps more members of a younger age group. This was not to be critical of
existing members, whose time and efforts on behalf of the Group were valued
and appreciated but fresh ideas and new approaches to the Group’s activities
should always be welcome. He urged existing members to do all they could to
attract new members.
6. Any
Other Business
There being no other business to transact, the Meeting closed
with a vote of thanks to the Chair.
Meeting Dates for 2007
14th June
9th
August
11th October
13th December
Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, 22nd February 2007
Present: Alan Mackim (Chairman), Kate Wyatt (North Elmham),
Ann Adeney (Broom Green), Phil Astley (Gressenhall), Ken Walton (Foxley), Jean Purchase (Swanton Morley), Ted Sansom (Secretary
& Worthing)
From the Practice: Dr. S. Hibberd and
Penny Louch
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Apologies For Absence
Apologies for absence were received
from David Sanders, Jim Eagle, Roger Thorneley, John Mallen and Ann Cleverley
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Minutes of the Last Meeting
The Minutes of
the last meeting of the Elmham PPG, held on Thursday, 14th December
2006, were approved by all present and signed by the Chairman.
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Matters Arising
Dr. Hibberd reported that the new telephone system had been on trial for a period of about two weeks and
had proved to be reasonably successful. There were matters
relating to its operation that needed to be resolved but the Practice was
giving serious thought to the purchase of this system. The system
allowed for administrative staff at the Surgery to monitor the total
number of calls received; the time of day they were received and the
length of time the call had been waiting. As minuted previously, there
had been an increase in the number of staff answering calls,
especially at peak periods. Dr. Hibberd reported that quotations had been
received to change the markings for the disabled car parking
bays at the Surgery. A brief discussion took place about this and
in particular whether there was a need to have markings at all;
leaving disabled drivers to self regulate their parking. However, it
was agreed that this would not be practical or desirable. The two
disabled members present were invited to attend the Surgery
premises the next day i.e. Friday, 23rd February 2007 at
12.30p.m. in order that they could have some input into this matter before a final
decision was made. Penny Louch stated that there was an alarm system
installed in the physiotherapy room at the Elmham
Surgery, however due to a failure in communication, the
availability of this system had not been brought to the attention of the
staff. This matter had now been rectified.
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Practice Developments
4.1
Impact of PCT Budget Requirements
Dr. Hibberd outlined the new guidelines laid down for
prescribing. In essence, this was a move towards the prescribing of less
expensive pharmaceutical products. The Practice would be monitored on a
monthly basis by the PCT, to ensure that their guidelines were being
adhered to. However, the Practice would continue to balance the requirement of
cost savings in this area against the patient’s clinical needs.
Dr. Hibberd reported that delivery had been taken on the
ultrasound equipment and that this was now in use for a trial period.
The
question of the Practice having its own dedicated social worker was now looking
good again. Although this matter had still to be finally resolved, the various
parties involved were in discussion with each other and a solution appeared to
be imminent.
4.2
Swanton Morley Patient List
Penny
Louch reported that the Swanton Morley Patient List was now just above the 1000
No. mark. In reply to a question from the Chairman, she stated that the original
budget had been for a maximum Patient List of 2000 No. However, the Swanton
Morley Surgery was on target for all
budgeted plans.
4.3
Patient Survey 2006
The
meeting considered the recently distributed Patient Survey for 2006.
Although one member voiced scepticism about “Tick Box Surveys”, in general it
was pleasing to note that Elmham Surgery’s results compared favourably with the
Benchmark figures.
Discussion took place concerning the question of early start and/or late finish
for surgery open hours. It was recognised that greater flexibility in surgery
opening hours would benefit some patients but there were many things to be
considered before, and if, any such move in this direction was to
be implemented e.g. early/late start for nurses, receptionists etc. The matter
would be given further consideration by the Practice.
In reply to a question tabled by
Roger Thorneley in absentia, Dr. Hibberd stated
that, the PPG, had undoubtedly exerted great influence on the results of the
Patient Survey. The PPG was not merely a ‘Talking Shop’
and had contributed positively to the affairs of Elmham Surgery.
5.
Group Items
5.1 PALS Complaints
Dr.
Hibberd stated that there had been one complaint made to PALS, which had
subsequently been referred to the Practice to deal with.
5.2. Website- Online Prescriptions
Kate
Wyatt spoke of her own experience using the Surgery website to order online
prescriptions. She felt that the website was not ‘user friendly’ for
this purpose and did not meet its objective of saving time in prescription
re-ordering.
ACTION; Surgery to re-assess
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Members Items
6.1 Dr.
Hibberd confirmed that the Practice had seen sight of a recent letter from Ann
Cleverley concerning same day appointments. He confirmed that within each
working day, the Practice allowed for a block of “same day appointments” and
although such appointments might not necessarily be with the doctor of the
patient’s choosing, nevertheless the system worked quite well. He was not able
to comment specifically on the particular problem outlined in Ann’s letter but
that the matter had been fully investigated.
6.2
Kate Wyatt enquired whether anything further had
been heard from the
Highways
Authority about installing a drop kerb at the access of the Practice premises to
the public highway. There was nothing further to report on this matter.
6.3
Ken Walton stated how refreshing it was to receive
the Agenda for the Meeting in
advance of the meeting itself and made a plea for this to be the rule rather
than the exception.
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Any Other Business
There being no other business to
transact, the meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chair.
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Elmham Surgery and Swanton Morley Nurse-Led Surgery
