What is the Patient Participation Group?

We are patients just like you…

and over 50% of GP practices in England now have a Patient Participation Group (PPG).

The purpose of the PPG is to ensure that patients and carers are involved in decisions about the range, shape and quality of services provided by the practice. We are a group of active volunteer patients that work in partnership with the practice staff and GPs, and we feel this is essential to achieve high quality and responsive care. Our group was formed in January 2010 and meets, together with a member of the practice, at regular intervals and we are known as The Patients’ Group.

We work in partnership with the practice to:

• Provide the patients’ perspective to ensure that services, plans and activities respond to their needs and priorities – a ‘critical friend’.
• Foster communication with the wider patient population and building stronger Patient / Doctor relationships.
• Provide practical support to practice teams e.g. conducting and analysing patient surveys, attending flu clinics, a Christmas party for some of the older patients, organising health awareness events etc.
• Help other patients take more responsibility for their health and make informed decisions

Please take a look at our Patient Participation Group notice board which is permanently displayed in the waiting room. It provides information on current activities as well as our latest Newsletter.

Patient Reference Group

The Surgery maintains a database of patients (The Patient Reference Group) that have volunteered to disclose their contact details so that they can receive, via email, Surgery related information, questionnaires and newsletters from time to time. The Surgery wishes to help the PPG to expand this to a wider range of patients and would like to ask you if you would please join the Patient Reference Group.
If you would like to join our Patient Reference Group, please complete this form.

Social Walking for Health and for Pleasure

The Patients’ Group have walks every month, usually the second Monday, not just for fitness, but also for a coffee and a chat as a social event. We have a fair number of regular members but could really do with a few more, so why not give it a try? We are a friendly lot, and we usually go to places such as Frimley Lodge Park, South Hill Park, Dinton Pastures etc, but we are always open to new suggestions. We have a gentle stroll of a mile or two, and then go to the cafe for tea or coffee (and sometimes a cake), and plenty of chat. This group is very much patient led, even deciding where the next walk should be, so they can be whatever you want them to be, at a speed that suits you, so why not give it a try?

If you want to know any further details or indeed the date and location of the next walk, feel free to give me a ring.

Andy Wells-King 01252 874298

Charities

Although raising monies for charity is not one of our primary aims, we do raise money from the sale of second hand books and from donations from the walking group. We have collected in previous years for Southampton Children’s Hospital and Naomi House, and our last charity was Hearing Dogs for Deaf People to whom we sent a total of £1100. Every year or two we pick a new charity. More information on our new charity – MyCancer MyChoices.

What is the West Berkshire Clinical Commissioning Group?

Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are part of the NHS organisational structure and have replaced Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). On 1st April 2018, the four Berkshire West CCGs, including North and West Reading, South Reading, Newbury and District and Wokingham, merged to become the Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Group.
Commissioning in the NHS means the process of ensuring that the health and care services that are provided effectively meet the requirements of the people in their area. This will mean assessing the population needs, prioritising health outcomes, procuring services and managing service providers. West Berkshire CCG will, working with others, commission most local hospital and community healthcare. Putting it another way, they put in place most of the services general practitioners refer patients to.

The West Berkshire CCG will work together with Wokingham Borough Council to ensure the Health and Social Care Act is fully delivered. What does the Act say? It says they must work together to: improve the health of the population; reduce inequalities in health; provide better care to people with long term illness and high levels of dependency; provide the kind of care people need and deliver it where they want it; listen to what people think about the care they have received and improve it when it is not good enough or what people need. A new Health and Wellbeing Board will oversee their work and make sure it happens.

There will be dialogue with local groups, including the Wokingham area PPG Forum of which New Wokingham Road Patients’ Group is a founder member. So, if you want to have your voice heard, let us know any thoughts you may have, or make sure you are part of the Patient Reference Group.

Thank you.

Andrew Wells-King

Chair

Download the latest PPG Reporting Template 2014/2015

Meet the Current PPG Members

The following patients represent you on the Committee:

• Andrew Wells-King (Chair): Telephone 01252 874298
• Mary Twomey (Treasurer)
• Jasmin Bushnell (Secretary)
• Judy O’Regan
• Sue Honey
• Noel Twomey
• Rhona Stainthorp
• Garry Curran
• Brenda Metcalf
• Sally Abbott
• David Broderick
• Sheila Dinan (Surgery Representative)
• Laura Vickers (Surgery Representative)

Please contact Andy if there is anything you would like to discuss.

We are always on the lookout for new members so, again, contact us if you are interested in joining our happy band.

PPG Events

We organise local health events. We have previously held joint health events which focused on ‘Diabetes’ in March 2017 and ‘Emotional Wellbeing and You’ on 27 September 2018. More recently, we held a Diabetes Types 2 Awareness Health Even on 27 April 2022.

The following officers were happy to serve again. These are as follows:

• Chair – Andy Wells-King
• Secretary – Jasmin Bushnell
• Andy Wells-King – Chair of the Patients’ Group – Telephone: 01252 874298

We organise local health events with Heath Hill Road Surgery’s Patient Group. We have previously held joint health events which focused on ‘Diabetes’ in March 2017 and ‘Emotional Wellbeing and You’ on 27 September 2018.

We hope to organise another health event in the future. Watch this space!

The Patient’s Group – Annual General Meeting

Our Patient’s Group held their AGM on Wednesday 12th October 2022 at 19:30 at the Royal British Legion Club Crowthorne.

As always, the Chairperson will compile a report and the Treasurer will report on accounts for the year.

If there are any patients who wish to stand on the PPG, please contact the Chairperson, Andy Wells-King on 01252 874 298.