Alexandra & Crestview Surgeries
Patient Participation Report 2014/15
5.
1. Maintaining the Patient Reference Group (PRG)
The PRG age, gender and ethnicity profile has not changed significantly since it started in 2011.
Membership is not representative of the practice in terms of the age profile, and being aware of this the
practice has had a continuous process of trying to raise the profile of the group and recruit members.
Practice
PRG*
Age
Male
Female
0-19
11.95
11.89
20-29
6.65
6.1
30-39
6.65
5.45
40-49
6.96
6.2
50-59
6.41
6.01
60-69
5.87
5.78
70-79
4.38
4.43
80-89
Age
Male
Female
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
12.5
12.5
70-79
80-89
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
37.5
0
0
0
37.5
1.7
2.55
90-99
0.34
0.68
100+
90-99
100+
0
0
0
0
(*patient members who attend meetings only, others correspond by email)
As well as patient members the PRG includes a James Paget Hospital Governor representative who
regularly attends the PRG meetings.
Posters and A5 flyers in the waiting room have not proved particularly successful methods of attracting
new members, or asking clinicians to hand flyers out in consultations but the practice manager is
planning on resurrecting this from April 2015. PRG newsletters have also carried articles about joining
the PRG in the past without eliciting interest.
A regular slot with the next PRG meeting details and how to join (just phone and ask to speak to the
practice manager or email her) is on the practice website under the Latest News section as well as a
permanent section regarding the PRG itself.
www.alexandracrestviewsurgeries.co.uk
At the PRG’s 21st May 2014 meeting the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) “put patients
first” campaign was discussed which had suggestions for patient participation groups to raise awareness
and attract new members, one of the ideas was to host a visit from a politician at the practice or ask
them to hold a surgery at the practice, it was agreed that the practice would invite the current MP Peter
Aldous to hold a surgery or surgeries in the practice for healthcare concerns/issues followed by a PRG
meeting with him over lunch. The practice manager arranged this with Peter Aldous’ office for 24th
September and this was advertised from the end of August with Peter Aldous official posters in the
waiting rooms, foyer area of Crestview and on the website. Peter Aldous held a surgery in the morning
with pre-bookable appointments and then joined the PRG for a meeting at lunchtime. Sadly this did not
attract any new PRG members and only one patient booked an appointment with Peter Aldous which
was then cancelled.
The PRG is invited to communicate with the practice and other members by email and meets usually bimonthly, one meeting is held at a lunch time and the next in the evening to make these meetings
available/accessible to workers and students (may find evenings better) and older patients (who may
find during the day better). Two new members have joined the group during the last year but sadly two
have also stepped down (one because of relocation and another because of being out of the country for
much of the year).
0
0.01
0
0
2. Sources of Feedback Reviewed
At each meeting and in the subsequent minutes the comments received by the practice through the
comment boxes in the waiting areas are reviewed as well as any relevant complaints and from January
2015, results and comments from the Friends and Family Test.
Minutes of Meeting
21.05.14.doc
Minutes of Meeting
16.07.14.doc
Comments from waiting rooms and PRG feedback at the July meeting was published in the PRG summer
newsletter:
Summer 2014 PRG
practice newsletter.pdf
Minutes of Meeting
24.09.14.doc
Minutes of Meeting
19.11.14.doc
Minutes of Meeting
07.01.15.doc
Minutes of Meeting
11.02.15.doc
3. Priority Areas Agreed
1. Booking-in screens at each site, a patient comment had been received in July which stated that the
screen had not shown the correct waiting time. This had been known to have before by the
Reception Managers and the software supplier Emis had been contacted to sort it out but it did not
appear full-proof. There was also an issue where a patient could arrive themselves on the bookingin screen at one site but their appointment have been made at the opposite site. Emis had also
been consulted about this problem but it had not been resolved. The PRG felt this should be sorted
out permanently (16th July 2014 meeting).
2. The PRG wished a GP Partner to be present for at least 75% of PRG meetings (16th July 2014
meeting).
3. Making nurse appointments available to book on-line (19th November 2014 meeting, had been a
suggestion form one of the PRG members in a previous year).
4. Implementing the Priority Areas
Booking-in/Automated Arrivals screens
By September 2014 on the information technology front the practice manager reported that the bookingin screens at both sites should now be displaying the correct waiting time; they are still not ‘smart’ enough
to tell when a patient is booking themselves in at one site but their appointment is at another; Michelle
had raised this at a customer service level within Emis (the clinical system provider) and will reiterate this
when she has a meeting with the customer service manager in early October. This was discussed at the
meeting and afterwards the customer service manager got a senior Emis engineer to liaise with practice
manager and this resulted in the engineer altering the software settings so that if a patient tries to book in
at the opposite site to their appointment the booking-in screen will prompt them to report to Reception. In
December 2014 the practice invested in two new booking-in screens (hardware) running off a Windows 7
operating system which can take software upgrades into the future.
A GP Partner to be present at 75% of PRG meetings – 75% achieved since target introduced following July
PRG meeting (67% if measured over the 2014-15 year)
May meeting – no Partner
July meeting – Dr Atkins
Sept meeting – Dr Lall
November meeting – no Partner
January meeting – Dr Domek
February meeting – Dr Connell
On-line booking of nurse appointments
In January the practice manager reported to the PRG that she had asked other local practices if any of
them already offer nurse appointments to book on-line but none do, the problem being that it is that
nursing appointments’ length (in multiples of 10 minutes) vary considerably according to the purpose of
the appointment. For example some chronic disease checks take 20 minutes but others take 30, 40 or 50
minutes depending on the patient’s health conditions. It is not only chronic disease checks which vary but a
variety of other procedures. It may be very difficult for the practice to provide succinct information to
patients in an online message so they book themselves in for the correct amount of time for the purpose of
their appointment. The practice manager undertook to discuss the matter with the Partners to come up
with a trial of particular 10 minute nurse or nurse practitioner appointments. This had been agreed and
had been in place since late January, there is an explanation of what kinds of things may be booked into
these appointments e.g. minor illness and injury, on the web booking portal. Uptake had been limited but
was in its early days. At the request of the PRG in the 11th February meeting to do more to promote this
facility, a message about these new online bookable appointments had been added to the ‘ticker tape’
message display on the waiting room information screens.
5. Progress Made on Priorities in Previous Years
In 2013-14 three actions out of the four suggested by the PRG following the Patient Survey were
progressed as follows:
1. Moving the screen in the Crestview waiting room to the notice board wall and ranging all
the chairs to face that way (not agreed following a trial as waiting room seating would be
lost)
2. Putting a mirror up in each of the patient toilets (completed Feb. 2014)
3. Reviewing information and signposting for carers sent to carers when they register as
patients (completed May 2014 including designating a waiting room notice board at each
site to be for “Carer Information”)
4. Trying an online booking and prescription ordering publicity campaign again such as putting
flyers on waiting room chairs to encourage people to read about these facilities and
encourage uptake. Done during second half of March and April 2014. In its Spring newsletter
the PRG also offered a free computer training session at Crestview, in partnership with The
Crossing, however there was no take up.
From the 2012-13 Patient Survey the following was progressed:
You said…
You want to be able to
book 2-3 days ahead for a
GP appointment as well
as
on-the-day
and
beyond 3 days ahead.
We did/are doing…
From 4th February 2013 we have changed the
ratio of GP appointments keeping 30% on-theday (introduced in July 2012) making 40% 48
hour bookable and keeping 30% routine/book
anytime.
The PRG felt the practice
website
itself
could
appear on more surgery
printed information.
This is included in letterheads but will also from
18/12/12 appear in the message about online
appt. booking and prescription ordering on
prescriptions
You didn’t like
Facebook page
our We asked you why not (Dec. 2012) but received
no responses and have taken down the page
(January 2013)
PRG said patients should Notices about the complaints procedure on the
be aware they can Practice Information notice boards were altered
discuss concerns with a (Dec. 2012) to include discussing concerns as well
member of staff if they as making complaints.
do not feel it is at the
complaint stage yet
The
practice
notice We overhauled the boards in December 2012 so
boards are used and liked their headings are clear and the displays more
but
room
for neat and tidy.
improvement
The result is…(so far)
Reports
from
PRG
members were positive,
patients are using the new
system though some still
find it difficult to get an
appointment exactly when
they want it.
Website awareness and
content value could be
gauged in the next patient
survey (but was not a PRG
priority for the 2013-14
survey)
No comments received
regarding the page being
taken down.
Patients have asked to
speak to a senior member
of staff or the manager
about concerns which have
often been sorted out
quickly.
No comments have been
received from patients so
far but it looks better to
practice staff.
6. Publishing the Local Patient Participation Report on the practice website by the 31.03.15
This report will be published on the Alexandra & Crestview Surgeries website by 20th March 2015:
www.alexandracrestviewsurgeries.co.uk
Practice opening hours: 8.00am and 6.30pm Monday-Friday. The surgery reception is open for you to visit
in person to make an appointment or pick up a prescription between 8.00am and 6.30pm Monday-Friday
(both Alexandra Road and Crestview). Alexandra Road Surgery tel. 01502 526062; Crestview Medical
Centre tel. 01502 526666. Patients can book GP appointments online, to register to use this service
patients ask Reception for a personal registration code.
7. Practice Declaration
The Local Patient Participation Report is a true and accurate representation of the work undertaken to
fulfil the requirements of the Patient Participation DES 2014/15
Confirmed by PRG Member Mrs Pauline Allerton
Confirmed by Practice Manager Michelle Kears