The Eastney Practice
Patient Group Meeting Minutes – Tuesday 8th December 2015 @ 17:30
Present: Practice Manager Sue Miller, Dr Anne Eggins, Sue Halewood community pharmacist,
Practice Secretary Jayne Warren, David Steel, Anne Steel, Andrew Neal, Janet Cook, Angie Burt,
Alan Jones, Doug Powell, Margaret Coleman and Teresa Standen.
Apologies: David Clarke, Melanie Clarke, Pauline Chambers, Margaret Bell and Peter Sheldrick
Attendees will be referred to by their initials throughout these minutes.
Practice manager welcomed everybody to the meeting and introduced Alison Nicholson who is the
community engagement officer for Healthwatch.
Healthwatch has been set up to represent the voice of the patient and how they can get the best care
from their local health and social care services. They are there to listen to the patients; what works
well and what doesn’t. Leaflets were distributed explaining ‘your voice counts’.
Alison went on to explain that there is a Service Directory available via phone or website
www.healthwatchportsmouth.co.uk or call 08000 520 029. Currently they have three people in
their team and always looking for volunteers, so if anybody is interested, please get in touch – next
board meeting is 23/02/16. One of the issues they are currently working on and alongside
Portsmouth University is ‘why people are not accessing the screening for breast, bowel and
cervical’.
DP – asked what the uptake was with bowel screening
Sue Miller explained that all bowel screening requests come from a central unit and that few people
responded.
Despite being a small organisation, they aim to be able to help patients where possible.
Practice complaints
Sue asked the group if they were aware that there is a complaints procedure and explained how
every complaint either via letter or telephone is acknowledged, discussed and followed up and
unless a final response was received by the patient, was left as ‘open’ as advised by the MDU.
To date, the surgery had received 3 written complaints and 2 telephone complaints – all had been
discussed and acknowledged by the practice manager.
Friends & Family Test
Sue talked about the results from comments left in October and November; results were lower in
November at 70.67% compared to October 90.91%; it was felt that some patients entered comments
on the wrong ipad. Important to get the correct ipad as the results are uploaded to NHS England.
Patient Survey 2015 results
Results were read in answer to patient satisfaction with the surgery opening hours:
37% very satisfied
36% fairly satisfied
9% neither satisfied or dissatisfied
3% quite satisfied
3% very satisfied
6% don’t know the opening hours
6% no response
Sue Miller announced that since the last meeting, the Action plan for 2014/2015 had been
completed.
Priority 1 – DNA (did not attend) rates were displayed in the waiting room.
Priority 2 – The importance of attending appointments displayed in the waiting room and
mentioned on the practice website.
Priority 3 – Telephone message amended to inform patients that, telephone consultations was not
for ordering repeat prescription, this too has been displayed in the waiting room and mentioned on
the practice website.
For information; the surgery currently has 4870 patients, our limit being 5000.
Sue Halewood then discussed a recent poster being displayed in the surgery ‘Home Care is Best’
and went on to say that most common illnesses do not require antibiotics. Illness such as ear ache,
sore throat, cough and sinus problems all depend on how long they take to recover from, and do not
require antibiotics because they are viral; however a lot of patients taking children to the GP expect
the doctor to prescribe antibiotics.
TS – thought it best to catch people early in their learning saying that primary school education
should include the need to educate the need to cut back on issuing antibiotics.
Dr Eggins mentioned an article in The Times about GP’s using particular services for buying care
for their patients, their own financial gain and wanted to put the patient group at their ease by
saying that the Eastney practice has no involvement in this.
Guildhall Walk
CCG public consultation re moving the GP led Guildhall Walk to the ISTC (The Treatment Centre)
Next meeting: Tuesday 9th February 2016