Patient Participation

Have you ever felt a little frustrated with the way the primary healthcare service operates?

Do you have views about the way things might be done differently:

• Access to GP appointments?
• Interpersonal style of Receptionists?
• Duration of appointment times
• Concerns over growing demands as the village expands?
• Telephone consultations?
• Ease of arranging repeat prescriptions?
• Online access to patient records?
• Availability of specialist nurses?
• Out-of-hours GP cover?

All these and many other related topics have been discussed at recent meetings of the Haddenham Medical Centre's Patient Participation Group (PPG).

The PPG provides a forum for direct and open dialogue with our GPs and their clinical and administrative colleagues. The PPG meetings allow the primary healthcare providers to explain the resources available to them and to hear suggestions and feedback from patients about potential changes before they happen.

Thankfully, Haddenham is blessed with a very capable, committed and enthusiastic primary care team, and Dr Howcutt and his colleagues work extremely hard to maintain service levels in the face of diminishing NHS funding in real terms. The team is also very open to feedback.

The next meeting of the PPG is on Wednesday 28th February, in the Medical Centre, starting at 7.00pm. Anyone registered as a patient with the Haddenham Practice is welcome to attend.

The meeting, like all PPG gatherings, will address current issues and concerns, both from a professional and patient perspective, and will include an opportunity for attendees to raise queries directly with Dr Howcutt (or a GP colleague) and Ellen Solley, the Practice Manager.

We will also hear about new medical equipment that the Practice is hoping to purchase, made possible by significant charitable donations and PPG fundraising — most notably the 200 Club, organised so capably by Lesley Coles, her partner Bob and our Vice Chairman, Barry Lynch.

Do please come along — you'll be made most welcome.

If you'd like to know more, please get in touch.

Email: chairman@theppg.org or telephone: 290244