Patient Participation Group (PPG)

Your PPG was formed in 2017 and our role is to be a ‘critical friend’ to The Village Surgeries Group. We advise the on the VSG on the patient perspective and provide insight into the responsiveness and quality of services.  It is very much a 2-way dialogue, with the Practice using us as a consultative group for any planned changes.

We have carried out 2 patient surveys to ensure your views are appropriately represented.  We also work with the VSG, as well as other rural surgeries in Cheshire West, to encourage patients to take greater responsibility for their own health.

A key part of our role is communication.  We provide a quarterly digital newsletter which is emailed by the Practice to all patients for whom the Practice holds an email address.  In addition, the newsletter is posted on the Practice website, facebook site and a hard copy is displayed on the noticeboard in each surgery waiting room.  

• To improve communication between the Practice, Patients and the wider community about matters concerning the Practice and health in general. Click here to read our Communications Review and action plan 
• To offer opinions in a constructive manner and to put forward ideas on behalf of other patients.
• To act as a consultative group for any changes at the Practice.
• To monitor complaints and comments received about the Practice.
• To support, improve and protect services deemed necessary for an effective service for patients.
• To encourage a spirit of self help and support amongst patients, including promotion of health and wellbeing in the Practice catchment.
• To promote and campaign for patient services, without distinction of gender, race, physical and learning disability, sexuality, age and political or religious views.

These aims will be achieved by liaising with Patients, Practice staff, community health workers, NHS England commissioning bodies, other PPG’s and other public and third sector organisations concerned with health care.

My name is David Williams and I am the Chair of The Village Surgeries Patient Participation Group (VSG PPG); this is my second year in the role. We have three elected roles; our Vice Chair is Esther Sadler-Williams and our Secretary Janet Foster.

So, what is the purpose of the PPG? Very simply, we aspire to be a ’critical friend’ to the Practice. When issues arise, we can see what patients see; what might appear to work in the eyes of the Practice may be viewed from an altogether different perspective by patients. If we can align these two then we’ve gone a long way to achieving our core purpose. We seek to identify patients’ needs and, together with the Practice, identify solutions to deliver those needs. 

This sounds very grand, but what does the PPG do in practice? Our efforts are structured around two routines which we consistently deliver; for a volunteer group, this is very pleasing.

We meet monthly with the Practice at face-to-face meetings at both Tattenhall and Farndon, alternating with Zoom meetings to provide flexibility for our attendees. As ever, the year saw some members dropping off, but we also welcomed some new members. Our current PPG committee stands at 16 excl. the Practice representation with a typical meeting attendance of 8 which, in busy volunteer agendas, I consider very healthy.  

The second element is our quarterly Newsletter, edited by Terri Hull this is produced to a consistent high quality and relevance. The Newsletter makes the primary contribution to our current focus on communications and “signposting”. I have no medical background but a lot of curiosity and, over the past year, I’ve confirmed my view that there is an enormous, but overwhelming, quantity of high-quality information available within NHS resources but it’s often not easy to find!! We have therefore focused on simplifying access to signposting information and will, in the coming month, share a piece of work with this goal.  

What else?

We continue to work with the Practice to support patients getting online with the NHS App. I personally find it the easiest way to order repeat prescriptions and view my health record. I believe that, as the NHS centrally develops functionality, familiarity with this App will become increasingly important, for example Countess of Chester appointments have recently appeared in it; if we can help patients navigate it, we will.

A selection of our other activities from the past year is

• Revision of text messages, complaint and annual review letters  
• A review of appointment scheduling 
• Disabled bay painting at Farndon and Tattenhall practices
• Patient input to Website upgrade

It remains a goal to make our PPG more representative of our overall patient population and although we are a young at heart and very vibrant group, we are looking for ways to encourage some new members, particularly younger patients to join us. So, if you feel passionately that you can make a difference to our patient community, we would love you to join our group. Our very ‘upbeat’ meetings are at 6.30pm on the second Wednesday of every month, alternating between on-line via ‘Zoom’, and face-to-face at locations both in Farndon and Tattenhall.

Details of upcoming meetings can be found on our section of the Practice website. 

If you would like more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me by email vsg.ppg@nhs.net

Kindest Regards,

David

Any patient registered at the Practice can become involved with the PPG to strengthen our voice – not only on local Practice issues but importantly in the context of rural Cheshire West too.  We are an informal group and we try to inject some ‘fun’ into our meetings. Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month at 6.30pm; alternating between zoom and face to face.  If you are interested please email vsg.ppg@nhs.net

Click here for the latest agenda which is avaiable approximately 5 days prior to a meeting.

Next PPG Meeting is:

Wednesday 13th November 2024 via Zoom at 6:30pm  

FUTURE MEETING DATES STARTING AT 6.30PM ARE PLANNED FOR:-

 VSG PPG Meeting Schedule 24-25.pdf

Thank you so much for those of you that were able to complete this year’s patient survey. We got some great feedback, in fact more patients replied than in 2019! So, thank you, as using your feedback and comments- we were able to discuss with the surgery where positive changes can be made.

The results certainly indicated that something had to change regarding the ‘’8am scramble’ for appointments.  Thus, changes were quickly put in place in June enabling you to book ahead up to 7 days in advance on the phone.  The 4-week feedback indicates that this has been extremely beneficial for patients and reception staff alike.

In some cases, it was not possible to change the current process, but again through discussion with the surgery team, we can learn why that it is and share that feedback with you. Additionally, the PPG will review based on these results, how we can better signpost you to services that you may not be aware of.

Again, thank you for supporting this survey – your input has helped improve the patient experience for all of us.

A presentation of the results is available on the link below:

This heritage trail has been created to commemorate the Centenary Anniversary of the Armistice, 11 November 2018.

The trail starts at the War Memorial, on the High Street.

This leaflet provides a lasting legacy which raises awareness and curiosity about local heritage and, in particular, the role of Tattenhall in The Great War, 1914-1918.

This historical trail has been produced by Tattenhall Local History. To find out more about the local history of Tattenhall visit www.tattenhallhistory.co.uk 

Are you looking for some walks around Farndon? Are there parts of Farndon & Holt that you may want to get to know better, particularly for new residents.

Look no further!

Your PPG have put together some walks that all start from Farndon Village Surgery!

PPG Walks.pdf

As we head into Autumn and the nights start closing in, the wildflower project will continue to be ongoing.  We will be counting down to see next years new spring life pushing their way out of the ground. We kindly ask pet-owners to keep their pets off the planted area as it matures. Thank you for your understanding.

Please also remember our ‘Happy To Chat’ benches at both of the surgeries, ten minutes sat taking in the sounds and sights of nature can work wonders for the health of the body and mind!! Someone may also join you for a chat!!