Minutes of The Smithy Surgery PPG Meeting
29th August 2013 5.30pm
Attendees
Mai Spencer; Sharon Battersby; David Collins; Caroline Ogden; Dorothy Shaw; Barrie Adams; Patricia
Ralls; Geoff Barlow; Mary Fitton
1.
Apologies
Geraldine Haughton; Iris Richards; Kay Phillips; Andrew Eyre
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Dorothy noted that this will take place on
27th September 10.30 – 12.00 at Hollingworth Methodist Church
2. Minutes from Last Meeting
Draft minutes have been received
2a. Matters Arising
 Young people’s project. Dorothy reported that Tina has organised a member of staff from
Londendale school to attend the September PPG meeting. They will discuss the health
problems the school has to deal with and how dealing with these could fit in with developing
a relationship with the practice about young people’s health.
 Healthwatch: David has organised Peter Denton from Tameside Healthwatch to attend the
October meeting
 Pharmacist: David has arranged for Tony, the local Hollingworth pharmacist to attend the
November PPG meeting
Action:
Geraldine to keep a diary of PPG speakers and dates
Geraldine to contact the surgery re displaying these meetings on the surgery website
PPG members who have organised speakers to remind speakers re the meetings
Mary to display these events on the notticeboard

PPG Logo. Not sure if anyone has sent any ideas to Tina. None sent from members present
at meeting. Barrie noted that a clear brief should be drawn up by the PPG to present to the
school.
Action:
Mary to put together a draft brief and circulate to PPG members to edit and improve before
the September meeting
3.CCG Feedback
Sharon had attended a 5 hour meeting of the CCG. She managed to condense the main points of the
meeting into an A4 information sheet for PPG members. All present thanked Sharon for her “heroic”
(Geoff) efforts on behalf of the PPG.
Caroline explained that The Smithy did have safeguarding policies and procedures in place as per
CCG discussion.
Sharon noted that despite financial constraints, the tenor of public CCG meetings is hopeful about
the future
Sharon had been invited to attend a one to one meeting with Steve Allinson, COO (Chief Operating
Officer) of the CCG to discuss how the CCG might encourage patients to become interested and
involved in the work of the CCG.
4. PPG Cluster Meeting Feedback
Sharon had attended the Glossopdale cluster meeting. The plans for holding a November meeting at
Bradbury House to publicise the CCG action plan have been deferred. It was agreed that the decision
to hold the meeting had been precipitate. Also there is no money from the CCG to fund such events.
Local councillors evidently hold a budget for health events and the group may approach the council
in the future.
Sharon feels that boundary issues between Glossop and Tameside are still a problem for the group
Action:
Continue to attend the meetings. Next one Sept. 17th at a location to be decided. Mai is on holiday
so Sharon and Mary will attend.
Investigate joining a Tameside cluster
Mary to contact Awburn House to find out if they have a PPG
5. Listening to Patients Posters
Mai has contacted Karen Stott who will send posters.
Action:
Decide September meeting if we wish to display these
6. CQC (Care Quality Commission) Guide
Mai circulated the guide and noted that there are several aspects concerning PPGs that it might be
helpful to take up. She suggested setting up a working group to summarise the guide and report
back to the next meeting
Action:
Defer deciding on setting up a group until the next meeting
7. Healthwatch Tameside Newsletter
Mai flagged up this publication
Action:
Mary to put on noticeboard
8. PPG AGM, Annual Report and Funding
There was discussion about whether the group, established for a year in November, should hold an
AGM and produce an annual report.
Action:
Hold an AGM at the December meeting, when the speaker meetings can be evaluated and other
achievements of the group can be assessed. An annual report can be produced from this
discussion and future aims and objectives can be included
Mai to email Tracey Turley re whether the practice receives monetary payment for having a PPG.
If so, the PPG might be able to approach the practice for small amounts of funding in the future for
certain projects.
9. AOB
Sharon had attended a local meeting with the Tameside Hospital Board where there was an
explanation of the Keogh inquiry and an exposition of the way forward for the hospital.
After mentioning her mother’s care at this meeting, she was asked to present her experience about
the hospital to the Trust Board
Newsletter; Barrie and Mary have compiled a newsletter for September. Caroline has written a piece
on flu and shingles vaccinations.
Length of Meetings: Speaker meetings might run to 1.5 hours. Meetings often run over the currently
allocated I hour. Action: see how long the next speaker meeting is and then decide about
allocated time.
Next Meeting: Thursday 26th September: representative from Longedendale School speaking.
Apologies from: Mai, Dorothy and Sharon
Andrew to Chair in Mai’s absence