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Patient Group Minutes
Meeting: Monday 13th May 2024. 6.00pm to 7.45pm
In attendance
For the Practice: Ravi Iyer (RI), Dr Kaushal Kansagra (KK)
For the PPG: Melanie McInerney (MM - Chair), Simon Bull (SB), Rosie Claxton (RC), Caro Cluskey (CC), Jackie Giltrow (JG), Tony Hayday (TH), Nick Thorne (NT - Secretary)
Guest: Dr Caroline Rickard, a Medical Director for Kent Local Medical Committee
Apologies: None
1. Welcome & apologies for absence
All present.
2. Actions agreed at last meeting
- 6a Digital inclusion – report feedback from Borough Green to next PPG. Note that 80% of AMP patients have online access, and some of the 20% who don’t are children. RI =
- 6b Paediatric Immunisations survey – post results on website – still outstanding. RI
- 6d Seasonal Clinical Newsletter – currently on hold: practice to decide whether/how to take this forward. KK, RI
- 6e Car park – to be rediscussed at next Partners’ Meeting RI
- 6f Noticeboard – 2 additional topics to be chosen, probably one to be Pharmacy First. MM
3. Membership matters
Since the last meeting, Andrew Scott-Clark has stepped down. The PPG expressed thanks for his contribution, and thanks have been sent by the practice.
Jackie Giltrow was welcomed as a new member of the PPG, a valuable addition given her experience with pharmacies.
A further potential new member has been identified, a GP who is a patient at AMP.
MM
4. Practice update
Dr Amrit Gill has been appointed as a GP Partner to replace Dr Tosh. He will join full-time (9 sessions/week) in September, and meanwhile will conduct 2 sessions/week and 3 locums will fill the remainder of the gap when Dr Tosh leaves end-May.
Dr Martin Owen, Associate GP (4 sessions/week), will be leaving this month, replaced by Dr Kavita Gaur.
The diabetes nurse, Susie Brunning, is leaving at the end of June, and interviewing is under way for her replacement.
AccuRx has successfully replaced eConsult and is working satisfactorily so far as AMP is concerned.
Potential clarification and simplification of parts of the AMP website had been identified; discuss with. RI MM
Check which non urgent appointments can be booked on both the Patient Access and NHS apps. RI
5. Local & National Initiatives
The chair had issued background reading from the BMA & IGPM about the GP contract settlement. RI updated the PPG on the challenges this presented and advised that the partners would be writing to all patients in early June about it, using a IGPM template which they had amended; the text will be shared with the PPG in advance.
6. Findings from initial staff liaison meetings
MM had met with the partners and they were happy with the approach.
SB had met with the secretaries and provided info for the newsletter as some patients are not following established procedures for results and other forms of contact which is leading to inefficient use of their time.
CC had established a link with the nursing team who had no issues to raise regarding appointment arrangements.
Others to be arranged. NT, RC, TH
7. Newsletter items and communication
Potential newsletter topics to include Pharmacy First, AccuRx, staff changes. CC
MM raised a concern about communication following issues with publicity of a health promotion event organised by the PCN. Her research has found that some practices & PPGs have individual social media accounts, as does the PCN. It is proposed that rather than create more channels, AMP & the PPG should focus on using the website & existing email/text routes. All
8. Rebuilding General Practice
A presentation was given to the PPG by Dr Caroline Rickard of KLMC (the official democratic voice of Kent GPs) about this campaign. It was agreed it would be inappropriate for the PPG to take a position on this, but that members should feel free to support it or not, as they wished.
9. Any other business
Responding to a patient email reported by NT, it was confirmed that due to the absence of an automatic reminder system, the practice is no longer able to resource manually reminding patients of the need to arrange a routine blood test appointment.
Patients who are more vulnerable (eg with memory impairment or who require monitoring due to cancer or high-risk drug treatments) will continue to be contacted by the practice and reminded to book a blood test.
Patients requiring blood tests for their long-term conditions (eg diabetes, heart disease) will be invited to book for a review and blood test during their month of birth.
Decision about possible Patient Survey to be taken at September meeting. MM, SB
Meeting dates for rest of 2024
- 13 May
- 9 September (AGM – JG and TH will be unable to attend)
- 9 December
All
