Patient Participation Group

The practice has always had a proactive patient link person, who has worked closely with us for a number of years. The purpose of this is to assist us in understanding the views of our patients and in helping us to continually make improvements to the quality of service that we provide.

During the latter part of 2019 it was decided to invite additional members of our practice population to join a Patient Participation Group (PPG) also sometimes known as the Patient Reference Group (PRG) and we have continued to invite patients on an annual basis. The process for doing this included the following:

• Displaying posters inviting patients to join our PPG
• Inviting comments through a number of mediums, i.e. face to face, written comments in the comments/communications box, via email and/or phone
• Continuing to liaise with our link person/PPG chair

Following the establishment of the PPG we agreed to carry out a practice based patient survey, which would cover at least 1% of our list size. This initial survey set a benchmark in which the practice could measure the views of the population that we serve. This survey has been carried out each year and was repeated in 2019 so that comparisons can be made. The total number of surveys completed this time represented 1.5% of our practice population. This internal survey is in addition to the national patient survey and the Friends and Family Test (FFT) however, the findings of each are used to inform the way in which we provide our services. The results of the full internal survey are below and are presented in graphical form with a written explanation for ease of reference.

Virtual Patient Participation Group

Friends Road Medical Practice and the Patient Participation Group (PPG) would like to invite you to join us in helping us to achieve our mission statement which is:

‘Friends Road….general practice at its best’

Do you have something to say about the practice? No time to attend meetings?

Then we invite you to join our online Virtual Patient Group.

What is the Virtual Patient Participation Group?

We realise that many patients are unable to attend meetings due to pressure of work or family commitments, but still want to have a say in what your surgery does.

As a member of our Virtual Patient Group we will contact you to find out any suggestions you would like to make regarding the practice.

We will ask questions from time to time, such as what you think about our opening times, getting an appointment, reception issues or the quality of the care or service you received.

We will contact you via email to ask your help with our Patient Surveys. You decide how often and when you would like to respond.

This is your opportunity to have a say in the changes and decisions taken within the practice about the services we offer.

We would like a wide range of our patients to take part so that the views are representative of the local community.

If you are happy to be part of our Virtual Patient Group, please speak with a member of our reception team.

Common patient questions and answers

Q – Why are we asking people for their contact details?
A – We would like to be able to contact people occasionally to ask them questions about the surgery and how well we are doing to identify areas of improvement.

Q – Will my doctor see this information?
A – This information is purely to contact patients to ask them questions about the surgery, how well we are doing and ensure changes that are being made are patient focused. If your doctor is responsible for making some of the changes in the surgery they might see general feedback from patients.

Q – Will the questions you ask me be medical or personal?
A – We will only ask general questions about the practice, such as short questionnaires.

Q – Who else will be able to access my contact details
A – Your contact details will be kept safely and securely and will only be used for this purpose and will not be shared with anyone else.

Q – How often will you contact me?
A – Not very often

Q – What is a virtual patient reference group?
A – This is a group of patients who are sent by email newsletters and surveys and who by responding help to make sure the surgery provides the services its patients need.

Q – Do I have to leave my contact details?
A – No, but if you change your mind, please let us know

Join our Patient Participation Group

All registered patients are able to join our Patient Participation Group. People of all genders, ages, ethnicities, and those with health conditions and disabilities are encouraged to join.

Members should as far as possible, be representative of the surgery population.

To join:

• fill out a Patient Participation Group registration form
• phone us on 020 8688 0532

PPG and survey documents

Please see below for our PPG and survey documents for 2019 to 2020.

• PPG slides 2019 – 2020 (PDF)
• PPG meeting minutes (PDF)
• Patient survey results (PDF)
• Patient survey action plan (PDF)