We want to facilitate and foster patient participation, ensuring our patients’ interests, perspectives and priorities are at the heart of our decision making.
Do you know about Patient Participation Groups (PPG), what they do, who can join, when do they meet? If you already know about PPG’s then why not join ours? If you want to know more, just read on.
Developing an equal partnership with our patients
PPG’s are about implementing real, positive change in our communities. Patients have long valued the relationship with their GP’s and general practice. However, these relationships have changed over recent years – patients today rightly want more say in their healthcare; they are better informed and expect to be treated as whole people, not just as a condition or ailment.
Watch the story of patient participation groups from the perspective of the Clinical Commissioning Group of Dorset.
PPG’s have an increasingly vital role 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.
PPG can help GPs to develop an equal partnership with their patients. They can help them to communicate accurately and honestly with individual patients, and with the wider community about key health matters. They can also help to reduce costs and improve services by identifying changes that the practice may not have considered, allowing resources to be used more efficiently. What is more, they can develop mutually supportive networks for patients and the practice, outside of individual appointments.
Being an active PPG member
Here at Limelight Health & Well-Being Hub we have a Patient Participation Group. We usually meet once a month at the surgery and patients who are registered with the practice are encouraged to join in.
The meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday of each month, around noon, we realise that many patients can’t get to these meetings for various reasons. But this doesn’t stop you from becoming involved. As a “virtual” member, you will receive meeting agendas, minutes and updates about what the PG is doing. And your views and input are valued too, whether by word of mouth or by email.
To join in you will need to register online by providing your name, your contact details, email address and contact number. Alternatively, if you are interested in having your say but don’t have access to the internet, pop into the surgery and pick up a PPG registration form from the reception area.
Additional information
We hope you have found this page useful and are able to benefit from the excellent team at the Limelight.