Patient Participation Group

The Orchard 200 Medical Centre operates a Patient Representative Group. (PRG). Members of the PRG meet with the practice team to discuss matters of importance to patients. Please contact the practice manager if you would like to join the group.

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Patient Group
Meetings

The group meets periodically and dates of forthcoming meetings can be found on our waiting room information board and on this page of the website.

Membership

Whilst the group aims to be representative of our patient experience, members are not considered delegates of the practice patients and all views expressed are based on feedback and our own experiences.

Ideally, the group should have a wide range of patients as possible in all age groups (16 years+) and of course experience. Members are not required to have any specific qualifications, just a genuine interest in helping to get the best service for patients and providing all necessary support to the excellent staff within the practice.

Virtual Membership

We are currently expanding the group to include a Virtual Group in addition to the Core membership which meets on a face to face basis. Any patient may volunteer to be a Virtual PPG member and there will be no limit on the number of patients in this group.

Members will be contacted on-line and asked to respond to issues in a similar fashion. Virtual members will also be offered the opportunity to help with projects and will be kept informed of all meeting decisions via the practice website,

Getting Involved

If you want more information or are interested in becoming either a Core member or a virtual member of the Patient Participation Group, please provide us with your contact details by calling our reception.

Meeting Dates

To be announced.

Orchard 2000 Medical
Centre Patient Group

Why not join our Patient Representative Group (PRG) and play a part in helping us to develop the practice. PRG members meet with us from time to time to discuss matters of importance to patients. Please contact us at the surgery if you are interested in joining the group.

Why have a group?

General Practice is changing under new NHS initiatives and continues to face a variety of challenging government objectives and priorities. General practice remains the most commonly used point of access in the NHS.

Ninety percent of those who use general practice services will be diagnosed and treated without being referred for further specialist treatment. Current government policy aims to improve both the access and delivery of services locally and reflect greater patient choice.

As healthcare is being brought closer to the patient, our practice is required to 'deliver' more each year, with little or no increase in the resources available to them. It is therefore important that these resources are used wisely and that the patient perspective - our perspective is considered.

What the group does?

The group provides a meeting point and enables us to work with the practice on a variety of areas , including such issues like:

Considering service suggestions which could benefit groups of patients or individuals
Providing a patient perspective
Assist in evaluating and prioritising demands on our resources
Discuss and evaluate responses to patient satisfaction questionnaires and help form suitable ways and means to address patient concerns.
Discuss and evaluate responses to patient satisfaction questionnaires and help form suitable ways and means to address patient concerns.
Acting as a sounding board for future surgery plans.
Improving communications between patients and the surgery
Considering specific operational issues that impact on patient care as raised.
Acting as a meeting point to discuss patient concerns and to seek improvements and alternative courses of action.
Provide patient representation and support for specific events.

Information from patient group meetings and discussions with practice staff will be displayed in our waiting area and on the practice website to let you know what work is currently being undertaken.

What we can't do

We are not here to facilitate individual agendas or personal complaints. Complaints must be made directly to the practice to comply with the standardised NHS Complaints Procedure and handled under a strict code of confidentiality. If you have a complaint, please either to speak to a member of the practice team or pick uo the practice information leaflet on complaints.