Agenda
Introductions were made, with 2 new members joining us for this meeting!
Minutes of the last meeting (18th August) were quickly reviewed, including
- Issues experienced with the NHS app and the lack of details involved (resolved)
- The effective use of our text messaging service (patients still receiving lots of SMS messages, although these aren’t all from the Surgery)
- Gratitude from PPG given to Surgery staff
- Any ideas to increase engagement with the local community were asked for
Agenda items from the Surgery
Only 1 agenda item from the Surgery was discussed. West Heath Surgery and West Heath Primary Care Centre are merging operations across the 2 sites. The partners of WHS will be overtaking responsibility of the WHPCC- a 3000 patient list sized practice 0.5 miles away, with our policies and procedures being implemented there. We do not foresee any significant changes effecting the WHS site, with services initially being kept separately due to patient preference.
Agenda items from patients
A group member raised some points she had identified during her recent time as a registered patient:
- Query over Surgery doors slamming and if this was a health and safety concern?
- The surgery doors have recently become warped, particularly in the newer side of the building. Room 5 has recently had its door replaced, with the mechanisms in rooms 10 and 11 also being replaced. The Surgery doesn’t have a designated maintenance team, with an external body attending when needed.
- A question was raised on how patients can access mental health support?
- Birmingham healthy minds offer a walk in service, every other Thursday afternoon with the potential for this to increase in the new year. If confidentiality is a concern with this method, a GP can complete a referral with their clinical input for further mental health support.
- Concerns over confidentiality: Despite the benefits of having an open plan office space, concerns were raised over the nature of data sharing and any associated risks involved along with any potential actions the Surgery could make to reduce these risks.
- The Surgery team have been made aware of these concerns, with the Surgery process of confirming patient identifiable information discreetly reiterated. A PRS license to listen for music to be played within the waiting room is to be explored in an attempt to soften the noise. Any other ideas would be welcomed.
- The possibility of running community wellbeing initiatives: what can we do to support various at risk groups within the community?
- The possibility of housing a carers meeting, where carers within our list size can attend to discuss support opportunities and share experiences is to be looked into, particularly with how isolated their experiences can possibly be. The Surgery are to look at if this would be well received within our careers groups, with feedback being provided in the next PPG meeting. Following on from this, the PPG group recognised the potential need for further information and support with those caring for patients with dementia. The Surgery are to look into offering for information and support in the new year.
AOB
- A group member raised a query about the length of time medication requests were being processed, personally experienced over a weeks delay? After investigation, it appears there was a significant backlog caused by unforeseen absences from the SDSPharmacy team, confounded by pre-planned absences by the Surgery GP team. This has now been resolved, with additional clinical support being sourced.
- Another group member raised concerns over lighting in the car park, particularly with the loss of streetlights following the addition of the temporary clinical rooms in the back building space. The lighting does work however the timer appears to be faulty- this issue has been escalated to the landlord for a resolution to be completed.
Final points
A message has been passed to our pharmacy team, asking them to communicate with patients that they do not always operate at West Heath Surgery. This will provide greater clarity to our patients.