Patient Participation Group

What is a Patient Participation Group?

A selection of patients and practice staff who meet at regular intervals to decide ways of making a positive contribution to the services and facilities offered by the practice to the patients.

Who are Joint Patient Participation Group practices?

The member practices of Northwest Merton PCN are:

• Alexandra Surgery
• Vineyard Hill Road Surgery
• Wimbledon Medical Practice
• Wimbledon Village Surgery

Aims of the Patient Participation Group (PPG)

• Raise funds for the practice and/or local causes helping the local community.
• Facilitate good relations between the GP practice and patients
• Improve quality of care and patient satisfaction
• Improve concordance with treatment & health outcomes
• Help informed targeting of resources, saving time and money
• Build two-way communication and co-operation between the practice and patients

PPG Structure and Membership

Membership of the PPG shall be open to all registered patients and their carers

It will reflect the patient profile and be widely representative and inclusive of different genders, ethnicities, ages and abilities as required in the GP contract

The PPG will be non-political and non-sectarian, will at all times respect diversity and exemplify its commitment to the principles contained within the Equality Act.

PPG Activities

• Make reasonable efforts during each financial year to review its membership in order to ensure that it is representative of the registered patients in the practice
• Obtain the views of patients who have attended the practice about the services delivered by the practice and obtain feedback from its registered patients about those services
• Review any feedback received about the services delivered by the practice with practice staff and relevant members of the PPG with a view to agreeing the improvements (if any) to be made to those services
• Contribute to decision making at the practice and consult on service development and provision where appropriate, expressing opinions on these matters on behalf of patients. However, the final decisions on service delivery rest with the practice
• Act as a sounding board to provide feedback on patients’ needs, concerns and interests and challenge the practice constructively whenever necessary, also helping patients to understand the practice viewpoint
• Communicate information which may promote or assist with health and social care
• Explore overarching ideas and issues identified in patient surveys
• Maintain a PPG area in the waiting room of the surgery with up-to-date information on current activities and opportunities for patients to comment (e.g. via a suggestion box).
• Act as a forum for staff to raise practice issues affecting patients, or for input into any operational issues affecting staff, so that patients can have their views on practice matters considered
• Act as a forum for ideas on health promotion, self-care and support activities within the practice to promote healthy lifestyle choices
• Raise patient awareness of the range of services available at the surgery and help patients to access/use such services more effectively.

Interested in joining our PPG?

If you would be interested in joining our Patient Participation Group or taking part in a patient survey at some time in the future, please contact the practice.