Patient Participation Group

Time: 1pm to 2pm
Location: Via Teams
Attendees: DK, AS, AG, MK, CD, NM
Apologies: KL

1. Welcome and Introduction

The meeting opened with a welcome to all attendees. Introductions were made, and we were pleased to welcome our newest member, NM, to the PPG.

2. Staff Updates

• We are pleased to welcome two new GPs:
  • Both are settling in very well.
• A new Healthcare Assistant (HCA), joined the team two weeks ago.
• We have also recruited a temporary HCA, to support appointment capacity during this period.
• Most of our reception team (all but one member) have been with us for less than six months. They are still learning but are settling in well and developing in their roles.

Positive feedback received:

AG shared that she found the reception team helpful and described Dr Kyrllos as very good. This feedback was warmly welcomed.

3. Improving Access

Book-on-the-Day / Urgent Appointments

• We continue to offer same-day appointments for urgent cases.
• Patients are triaged via telephone.
• If a same-day face-to-face appointment is required, patients are usually booked with our Physician Associate (PA), who is highly skilled and well supported by the GP team and Partners.
• All GPs have clear guidance on the PA’s scope of practice to ensure appropriate booking.
• All face-to-face GP appointments must be triaged by a GP first.
• Additional same-day “book on the day” GP appointments are reserved and used where clinically necessary.
• We also have access to an overflow GP service at St Charles Centre for Health and Wellbeing, which operates until 8pm. These appointments are shared across multiple practices and therefore fill quickly.

We always aim to accommodate patients wherever possible.

NHS App:

We continue to actively promote the NHS App via:

• Our website
• Waiting room displays
• Verbal promotion
• Registration forms

Many parents request proxy access to their children’s medical records, which we facilitate.

We also receive a high volume of Subject Access Requests (SARs); in many cases, we offer patients full access to their records via the NHS App as an alternative.

We will review and share our NHS App uptake percentage at the next meeting.

Telephones:

• Our telephone performance is closely monitored.
• Each month, data is submitted to the PCN, which reports to the ICB.
• The target is 90% of calls answered within 10 minutes.
  • When this target was introduced in June last year, we were at 66%.
  • By July, we achieved 90%.
  • Performance remained stable for several months.
  • There was a gradual decline, and by January 2026 performance returned to 90%.

This dip was largely due to onboarding and training new reception staff. During training periods, staff undertake shadowing, meaning fewer calls are answered directly. Performance has now stabilised. We also have 3 people answering calls during busy periods and additional staff help when needed throughout the day.

New GP Contract

The new NHS GP contract:

• Requires practices to provide a same-day response for all urgent patient requests.
• Does not legally define what constitutes “clinically urgent.”

This means practices must use their own clinical judgement to determine urgency. As a result, there may be variation between practices in how urgency is interpreted, which could affect patient access expectations.

4. PPG Expansion

We discussed plans to expand the PPG, particularly digital/virtual participation, to complement existing members.

Proposed actions:

• Add a section to the new patient registration form asking if patients would like to join the PPG email group.
• Raise at the next Partners’ meeting and ask GPs to identify suitable patients who may wish to join.
• We will get in touch with the person who ran the Patient engagement workshop and see if she has any ideas.
• Explore the possibility of hosting an annual PPG dinner.

5. Newcombe House Development

The Newcombe House project has been in the pipeline for approximately 10 years.

There has recently been some progress, although we are currently awaiting input from district valuers.

The proposed plans are very positive, with:

• Increased clinical room capacity
• Space for potential community services

This expansion would allow more clinical staff to work on-site rather than remotely, enabling an increase in face-to-face appointments. A larger on-site clinical presence would also increase patient footfall within the surgery, helping to strengthen the sense of community within the practice.

We will continue to keep PPG members updated as developments progress.

6. Any Other Business

No additional matters were raised.

Next meeting

Date to be confirmed – It will be Mid-May 2026