Medical Centre Update

All patients registered with the Haddenham Medical Centre are invited to attend the next meeting of the Patients' Participation Group, which takes place at the Medical Centre on Tuesday evening, 28th January, starting at 7.30pm.

Why might you want to do so?

There are two very important issues to be discussed and aired:

• How decisions are reached about what services, medications, assessments and treatments are available to patients through their local GP
• Changes in the appointments system at the Haddenham practice

GP Services
Addressing the first theme, Dr Malcolm Jones (a local GP based in Princes Risborough) will explain how the Aylesbury Vale Clinical Commissioning Group decides on the health service priorities in the local area. The Haddenham Medical Centre comes under the authority of the Aylesbury Vale Clinical Commissioning Group, and it is this body which shapes the ways our GPs can prescribe and provide access to secondary level support offered by local hospitals and other health care providers within the NHS — i.e., what will be funded what what will not be funded.

Appointments
Staff at the Haddenham Medical Centre have worked very hard to improve the patient experience, and recent feedback has been positive — especially in terms of the friendliness and professionalism of the Reception staff. One area does remain a bugbear with many patients, and that is the difficulty experienced in securing an appointment. Our GPs have put their heads together with Ellen Solley, the Practice Manager, and have a different arrangement in mind. The details will be presented on Tuesday evening.

Every registered patient is welcome. However, it would help if you could let the chairman of the Patients' Participation Group know that you intend to come along, so he can help ensure the logistics are well provided for. You can email him here: chairman@theppg.org