Patient Reference Group
We currently have 14 willing volunteers who have agreed be part of our Patient Reference
Group. Some of the members had asked to speak to me regarding aspects of the surgery
that they were unhappy with or indeed happy about. I took that opportunity to ask them if
they would like to be part of a virtual patient reference group which could influence decisions
and changes within the practice. Other members have joined after they read our PRG leaflet
which can be found in the waiting and they were happy to join knowing that their time would
not be taken up attending meetings but they could give their views freely via emails.
The group is a small representation of our practice population made up of all ages, male and
female, working, nonworking, retired, and patients staying at home to look after the family.
Some of the members have young children, some teenagers and some have no children at
all. We also have a representative who is disabled and one who is a carer. By having this
mix we hope to get a wide variety of opinions on which we can draw.
The aim is to have views from you the patient on what you would like from your surgery and
any suggestions on how we can improve our current service.
Marybrook MC and the PRG have reviewed last year’s technology/systems questionnaire
and agreed new areas we can focus on in the coming year. The introduction of a new
telephone system, a nurse triage system, SMS texting and the all new Marybrook Medical
Centre website has made a difference to the way we can get information to our patients and
how they can access our services. The PRG decided to repeat the access survey (How easy
it is to book an appointment at the surgery etc.) of 2012 to see if our patients had taken
advantage of the changes.
Questionnaire: The questionnaire covered questions regarding appointments from the initial
booking with our receptionists at the desk or by telephone to consultations with both nurses
and GPs.
Our receptionist asked all patients attending the surgery over a 2 week period if they would
complete the questionnaire. Thank you to those 155 patients who took the time to give their
feedback and to the patients involved in the PRG who gave up their time and gave such
informed feedback. Please see the full survey results below.
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Some of the key results and comments from our 2014 survey.
“Excellent GPs & practice, wonderful people.”
“All seems to be a good service, I’m very satisfied”
“Generally wonderful”
“One of the best practices I have been registered at.”
“Pleasant staff and very user friendly”
“Get rid of the automatic booking yourself in screen next to the reception”
“Receptionists brilliant”
“Excellent service, Thank You”
“I find all the doctors very good”
“Your lovely ladies on reception/phones are excellent”
“The surgery could do with a refurbishment”
“Got nothing to add as I am very satisfied with everyone”
Over the past 2 years Marybrook Medical Centre have listened to our patient feedback both
positive and negative and used it to make changes to our appointment system, our
telephone system and the overall service we give our patients. This recent data shows that
you agree that it is easier to get through on the telephones, to make appointments and that
you have confidence in the nurses and GPs that you visit and that you are more than happy
with the reception team who look after you on a day to day basis. A huge number of you
appreciate the service we give and often pass this on to the staff when you are here or even
post it on the NHS Choices website which we greatly appreciate, however we will continue to
encourage feedback and to make changes as an ongoing process as there is always room
for improvement.
Actions for the coming year:
1. Increase patient participation to encourage good community relations. In particular to
support carers and people who live on their own.
2. Continue to increase the number of users online and the surgery pod, to use sms
texting to keep patients informed and continue to have a daily nurse triage. This will
free receptionist time and GP appointments to deal with patients with more complex
conditions.
3. Introduce a quarterly newsletter to keep patients informed.
I hope you approve of the actions we are taking and will benefit from them.
If you are interested in joining the Virtual Patient Reference Group please complete the form
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and return it to the surgery. I will contact you by email to confirm I have your details and then
from time to time, no more than 3 times in a year, I will ask for your views on different
aspects of our service. You are also free to send feedback/questions to me at any time I am
always happy to hear from you. If you do not have access to a PC or do not want to use this
method of communication but would like to join the PRG please contact me at the surgery
and we can discuss an alternative method of communication.
Lorraine Hollingworth
Practice Manager