Patient Participation Groups

One in three practices now has a Patient Participation Group.  Here are some tips from the National Association for Patient Participation about how to set up, and maintain, an effective Group.

 1. Recruit actively through personal invitations to patients who you feel will be an asset to the Patient Participation Group.  Few patients will come forward in response to posters in the surgery, largely because they don’t understand what is involved.  It is plain wrong to say that patients are apathetic about health and health care.

 2. Committee work is not universally attractive and some groups of patients just won’t find it relevant.  Compensate by putting in place mechanisms to learn from the wider practice population, such as inviting the patient group to chat to patients in the waiting room or setting up an email network.

 3. The practice and the Patient Participation Group should agree a clear focus for its work that will make a real difference to the life of the practice and the health of the community.  A PPG that sits on the edge of the practice is likely to be a waste of everybody’s time.

 4. Seek to establish links between the Patient Participation Group and the wider community.  This will improve communication and make it more likely that the practice and its patients are aware of the support that is available within their area.

 5. Set clear ground rules that prohibit patients using the Patient Participation Group as a vehicle for their individual complaints and issues.  The Group is there to represent the views of the wider practice population and individual concerns should be addressed through other avenues.

 6. Give serious consideration to how the Patient Participation Group can contribute to health promotion and support self-care.  Strategic input to the practice as encouraged by the Quality Outcomes Framework is valuable, but patients have a great deal more to offer than this.

 7. Consider affiliating to the National Association for Patient Participation.  The annual subscription is just £25 per year and will put you in touch with the experiences of other Groups around the country.

Graham Box, Chief Executive,
National Association for Patient Participation

ABPI Code

The promotion of prescription medicines to health professionals and information made available to the public about prescription only medicines are regulated by The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry.

It is important that you know about the ABPI Code so that you know what to expect from pharmaceutical companies and how to get the most out of your relationships with them.

If you are concerned about a pharmaceutical company’s promotional activities, contact the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) which administers the Code at arm’s length from the ABPI (details below).

The following summarises what the Code says about when medicines can be promoted, journal advertisements and the language that can be used in promotion. Over the coming weeks, different areas of the Code that are most relevant to you will be explored in this newsletter.

The No Delays Achiever

The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement No Delays team believes there should be no unnecessary delays for NHS patients. Being able to measure, prioritise and take effective action will help NHS organisations meet targets like the 18 week wait and so reduce delay and anxiety for patients.

A small team with NHS experience and specialist skills in service and process improvement has been working with an IT provider to develop the No Delays Achiever over the past year. The No Delays Achiever was launched on 1st November and is now available free to the NHS.