Jan. 14, 2025

Agenda

Please see PPG meeting minutes of 14/1/25

Minutes

Care Coordinator – Wendy Sanderson

Wendy gave an overview of her role within the practice:

· Works very closely with the GPs

· Works closely with patients with frailty, dementia, cancer and other serious diagnosis and the elderly

· Contacts via telephone, text message, face to face and home visits as appropriate.

· Liaises with district nurses, social services, hospitals, and specialist organisations to streamline care for our patients.

· Weekly visits with a GP to Belmont Grange Care Home to attend to their needs and working with community matron.

· Ensures appropriate consent for care home residents to administer flu, covid and RSV vaccination and any other necessary administration.

· Ensures care plans are up to date appropriately.

· Patients discharged from hospital with extra care needs – liaison role and provides extra support if necessary.

· Checks status of 2ww Cancer referrals to ensure patient has attended and follows up appropriately (failsafe register).

· Checks learning disability annual reviews are up to date.

· This list is not exhaustive as she deals with many other aspects of patient care.

Wendy is a very valuable member of the team and performs many tasks which would otherwise need to be undertaken by a GP, who would not have time during their busy working day to give the support which Wendy provides.

Changes in Death Certification

We discussed the changes which were implemented in September 2024 regarding death certification. Every death must be referred to the medical examiner and reviewed before a death certificate can be issued and countersigned by the ME. The medical examiner will also determine whether this needs to be referred to the coroner.

These changes have impacted the length of time to issue a death certificate, which in turn could delay funeral arrangements. It has been implemented following recent incidents of suspicious causes of death in various parts of the country, which may not have been picked up at the time.

CM agreed this was a good thing, but with an aging population, could see many bereaved being impacted by the delay.

Call-back Telephone System

This is now in operation, and we have had positive feedback during the first month in operation.

· When phone engaged, press eg 1 for callback

· When line available will call back the patient

· No more lines, but better system to ensure patients do not have to wait on the line

· Patient will not lose their place in the call queue

· Will not call again if patient does not answer on first callback – patient will need to call again

CM was unaware of the system but felt it was a positive addition to help with call queuing.

Automated Text Messages

CS stated that the text messages which are received following a consultation requesting Friends and Family Feedback are confusing as the purpose of the text message is not always obvious. This can be unhelpful when awaiting test results etc. She asked if there was a way of ensuring the message was preceded with its purpose to avoid anxiety by the recipient.

The message which contains the link for the questionnaire currently reads, 'Dear [Patient], After your recent contact with the surgery we'd be grateful if you could please complete a short survey by clicking the following link…..' However, a line could be added to the appointment reminder to inform the patient that a questionnaire will arrive following their appointment. We will implement this change.

Friends and Family Test Feedback

Following an appointment at the surgery, patients will receive a text message requesting feedback from their experience.

· On average around 300 responses received each month.

· 97-98% of feedback is positive with some lovely comments from patients. All staff are notified of the responses and this boosts morale in the workplace, which is a very uplifting experience.

· Our practice was ranked as one of the top 100 GP Practices in England and we came in at number 42! This is a fantastic achievement based on patient feedback, which we are all immensely proud of. Please see link attached.

· Whilst positive comments are fantastic to receive and boost staff morale, we do take any negative comments or suggestions very seriously and we discuss as a practice, if there is anything we can do better. Therefore, these comments are also valuable to ensure we update our processes to provide the best service possible for our patients.

https://www.healthsay.co.uk/articles/1101-england%27s-top-100-gps-in-2024

Staff Identification

CS noticed that the out-of-date staff board had been removed and she felt this was useful to identify staff and their designation.

HC said the board had been removed because it was out of date and there are plans to install a new updated version.

Next Meeting March 2025 – Date TBA