The Patient Participation Group - PPG ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
'PPGs are groups of active volunteer patients working in partnership with Practice staff and GPs - this unique partnership between patients and their Practices is essential to achieving high quality and responsive care.' Chief Executive of the National Association for Patient Participation (NAPP) www.napp.org.uk
GP Practices have been required to engage with their patients through Patient Participation Groups (PPG). These groups act as representatives of the patient population, and help to improve communication between patients and their Practice ... not as channels for complaints.
The Sunbury Health Centre Patient Participation Group (SHCPPG) is a grassroots way of affecting change, and involving patients in improving the health and wellbeing of the local community. The Group has an increasingly important role to play in helping to give patients a say in the way services are delivered to best meet their needs ... and the needs of the local community. It will encourage a positive relationship between the patients and the surgery staff, both medical and administrative.
The PPG is to be an active voice for the patients at the Health Centre ... and to be realistic about what can be achieved by making small changes that can make a difference. It will work constructively and positively to help identify solutions ... acting in partnership with the Health Centre to carry out surveys and research to find out what matters to the patients and then to discuss the findings with the Health Centre.
The SHCPPG is a platform from which to encourage patients to engage in their own healthcare. It will make the relationship between patients and the Health Centre much stronger and is important to the provision of modern high-quality general practice.
The SHCPPG can influence the quality, safety and effectiveness of services, in collaboration with all the Health Centre staff.
Establishing an Effective PPG … _______________________________________________________________________________________________
A PPG is only as good as the people in it.
Those involved in the group will need to have:
The confidence of the Health Centre
Enthusiasm for patient involvement
Willingness to learn
Absence of a personal agenda
A successful group should:
Involve everyone
Develop a clear plan for setting up and developing the group