Patient Participation Group

 

Our Patient Participation Group (PPG) meets to provide a forum for discussion about the practice.

The Aims of the Patient Participation Group

We have a Patient Participation Group (PPG) which meets bi-monthly.  We respect the views of our current members and welcome new members.

If you would like to join the Patient Participation Group please telephone the Surgery on 01843 209 300 to speak with one of our Reception Team who will pass your contact details to the PPG organiser(s).

If you are unable to attend meetings, our Patient Participation Group would still like to hear the views of our patients with regards to the Surgery.

To do this we compile a contact list of email addresses so that we can contact you every now and again to ask a question or two. 

If you are happy for us to contact you occasionally by email, please click the link below to open the sign-up form and complete all the fields.

Getting Your View

The group would like to contact patients on occasion by email and/or text so that they can obtain the views of the widest group of patients possible. We would like to obtain your email address and mobile phone number to do this. Please complete the Patient Contact Form to provide your consent for this.

Become a PPG Member

Latest Meeting Minutes

  • Date: 1st April 2026
  • Apologies: Lorna and Others
  • Attendees: Rachael, Alison, Sophie, Other PPG members   

1. Introduction and Apologies

The meeting opened with confirmation that it was the Patient Working Group for 1 April. Apologies were noted. It was confirmed that Lorna PCN Manager was also unable to attend due to illness.

2. Surgery Updates

The group was informed that Dr Su retired on 31 March. Prior to his retirement, her patient list had already been significantly reduced, leaving approximately 900 patients. These patients will now be distributed equally among the remaining partners.
It was also confirmed that there have been several staffing updates. Lauren and Katie have recently joined the Acute Care Team, and a further team member, Jess, is currently being recruited. Reva has now taken over as the lead of the Acute Care Team, replacing Seana. Ian and Seana, who left in December, have continued working remotely and will remain in post in that capacity until the end of April.

The surgery acknowledged that recent staffing levels have been affected by annual leave and sickness, but it is expected that services will stabilise as new staff become fully integrated and leave periods return to normal.

3. PCN Update

No Primary Care Network update was provided at this meeting due to Lorna’s absence.

4. Pharmacist Update and Research Study

Ross introduced himself and explained that he is undertaking a Master’s dissertation over the coming year. His research will focus on gathering patient feedback about the surgery’s services, particularly for patients with complex or long-term conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and COPD.

He explained that the study will begin with a questionnaire distributed to approximately 4,000 patients to identify general themes. Following this, a smaller group of around 10 patients will be invited to take part in more detailed interviews. The aim of the study is to identify areas for improvement, particularly in the context of ongoing changes to workforce structures and service delivery in primary care.

5. Prescriptions

A discussion took place regarding inconsistencies in waiting times communicated by different pharmacies. Patients reported that some pharmacies advise waiting three to five days, while others suggest ten to fourteen days, leading to confusion.

The surgery clarified that its standard processing time for prescriptions is five working days. However, the total waiting time can vary depending on the individual pharmacy’s dispensing process, which is outside the surgery’s control.

Patients also raised concerns about the NHS App, specifically that comments added when requesting prescriptions often appear to be ignored. It was explained that these comments go directly to GPs rather than administrative staff, which means they may sometimes be overlooked.

Action: The surgery agreed to remind GPs to check these comments more consistently.

It was also clarified that patients can now use Anima to request prescriptions, particularly for medications that cannot easily be requested through the NHS App.

6. Referrals and Advice & Guidance

The group discussed recent changes to the referral process, particularly the increased use of Advice & Guidance (A&G) from 1 April. Under this system, GPs may first send a query to a specialist for advice before deciding whether a formal referral is required.

Concerns were raised that this could potentially delay patient care or increase GP workload. However, it was explained that the system may also help reduce unnecessary referrals and shorten waiting times for patients who genuinely need specialist input.

It was emphasised that urgent referrals, such as those under the two-week cancer pathway, will not be affected by these changes.

The group noted that there is considerable misinformation circulating, particularly on social media platforms, and agreed that it would be helpful for the surgery to provide a clear explanation of these changes to patients.

Action: Add to website and plasma screens

7. Appointments and Test Results

Patients expressed confusion and anxiety about messages received following tests. In some cases, patients reported receiving notifications asking them to book appointments without clear indication of urgency, and in other cases, appointments appeared to be arranged without prior discussion.

The surgery explained that many tests are routine monitoring, particularly for long-term conditions, and results may be reviewed by any available GP rather than the patient’s usual doctor. It was also clarified that routine messages do not indicate urgent concerns.

However, it was acknowledged that the wording of messages is not always consistent, which can cause unnecessary worry. The surgery agreed that all routine messages should clearly state that they are routine, and confirmed that templates will be standardised to improve clarity.

It was also reiterated that if a result is urgent, patients will be contacted directly and an appointment will be arranged promptly.

8. Appointment Availability

Several patients reported difficulty in obtaining appointments and long waiting times. The surgery acknowledged that this has been an issue recently due to a combination of staff sickness, annual leave, and the onboarding of new staff members.

It was explained that improvements are already underway, with new Acute Care Team members now in place and additional GP sessions being provided to help reduce the backlog. It is expected that appointment availability will improve as staffing levels stabilise.

Patients were advised that using Anima is often the most effective way to request an appointment, as separate appointment slots are allocated for this system.

9. Volunteering

The group discussed the role of volunteers within the surgery. It was noted that volunteers have previously supported vaccination clinics by directing patients and assisting with organisation, and that this support could be particularly useful for future clinics.

Paul’s ongoing contribution through litter picking and general upkeep was acknowledged and appreciated. It was agreed that the surgery will promote volunteering opportunities, particularly in relation to upcoming vaccination programmes.

10. IT Systems and Check-In Screens

Concerns were raised about the reliability of the check-in screens, which are currently not functioning consistently. Patients also reported issues with room numbers not being displayed correctly.

The surgery explained that recent IT system upgrades have affected the configuration of the system, which may be contributing to these problems. The issue will be followed up with the internal IT support lead, Jamie, to ensure it is resolved. Action: Jamie

11. Car Park and Access Issues

The group discussed ongoing concerns about parking, including limited disabled parking spaces and congestion caused by vehicles stopping in inappropriate areas.

It was confirmed that the cones currently outside the surgery are likely related to external works being carried out by BT or O2. The surgery will follow this up to establish when they will be removed.

The possibility of creating a drop-off zone was considered but deemed not feasible due to space constraints. The surgery has already introduced signage to discourage inappropriate parking, which has had some positive impact.

Requests for additional disabled parking spaces were acknowledged, but it was noted that space limitations make this difficult without reducing overall parking capacity.

12. Jesse’s Law

The group discussed Jesse’s Law, which supports patients in requesting further investigation or a second opinion if symptoms persist.

The surgery confirmed that this has been discussed with the clinical team and that information has been displayed within the building. It was agreed that further communication via social media would be beneficial.

It was also highlighted that patients can already request to see a different GP if they are not comfortable or feel their concerns are not being addressed.

13. Stoma-Friendly Toilets

Cathy introduced the concept of making toilets “stoma-friendly” and explained that this requires relatively simple adjustments, such as installing a shelf, a small mirror, and a low-level hook.

She highlighted that many public facilities are now adopting these changes and that it significantly improves accessibility for patients with stomas and other conditions.

The surgery agreed to review the feasibility of making these adaptations.

10. Date of Next Meeting

Wednesday 27 May 2026

Previous Meeting Minutes

  • Date: 7th January 2026
  • Apologies: Helen, Amanda, Ken, Catherine
  • Attendees: Rachael, Jo, Lorna, Alison, Sophie, Paul, Jenny P, Jenny D, Kathy, Susanne

Welcome and Review of Previous Minutes

•    Frailty team name/info on website to be updated if necessary- Ongoing/outstanding, as it hasn’t been decided if a name/information change is needed.
•    Alison/Rachael to speak to Jamie re Anima request timing out- Complete. Anima now times out if you haven’t completed your request within 30 minutes.
•    Group members to send skills/experience to Rachael if they wish- Ongoing.
•    Helen to raise lack of audiology service at Thanet Health Hub with Citizens Academy- Helen absent from this meeting, but it was discussed that other members of the group are involved with the Citizens Academy and have discussed this.
•    Kathy and Becky to provide information re volunteer driver schemes – Complete.

1. Surgery Staffing Update

Rachael advised that Seana and Ian Mulligan have left Bethesda and have relocated. They are still working with us remotely until the end of January 2026. The surgery is recruiting for their positions.

Reva Dyett, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, has taken over Seana’s role as overseer of the Acute Care Team (ACT) and of the nurses at the surgery.

Dr Amr Rakha has recently joined the surgery and has taken on some of Dr Su’s patients.

3. PCN Update

Healthy Habits project - Lorna explained the Margate PCN Healthy Habits project, in which we have received a pot of money from Save the Children to promote good health to children at Clintonville Primary School. Childhood obesity is high in Margate and so this is a big focus of the PCN at the moment. The project focuses on promoting eating well, moving well and mental wellbeing; there will be 6 workshops held including the Active Thanet workshop, focused on promoting activity in children and teaching them why we do it; and the Cooking on a Budget worship, which advises how to eat healthily on a lower income. There is an opportunity for the PCN to complete the Healthy Habits project in other schools if it is successful; for example in secondary schools. It was asked if it is being considered for nurseries, but Lorna explained that this is already covered by the Kent Community Trust.

Pancreatic Cancer project - This is a national screening plan for pancreatic cancer, the 10th most common type of cancer in the UK; we have been given a pot of money from the Cancer Alliance to assess high-risk patients, review them and send them for investigation if necessary.

Cervical Screening project - This is a Margate-wide project that has started with Thanet, for patients who have never had or are overdue for a cervical screening; for example, due to anxiousness or poor past cervical screening experiences. We will be offering out-of-hours cervical screening appointments to those eligible.

Lorna advised that the ambulance has been moved to the Thanet Health Alliance and is being rebranded. The group agreed that this was good as it will be used more, and can be used across Thanet now.

Lorna discussed some of the services the PCN offers including dementia coffee mornings, the homeless hub, and working with the Forward Trust for wound dressings. The Margate PCN is well-linked.
 

4. Parking

Paul has completed 4 sessions of parking-watch since the last PPG meeting, to try to stop people parking on the white line/dropped curb at the surgery., as a representative of the disabled and those less able. 

The feedback from these sessions was that people park over the white line very frequently, especially delivery drivers. It was questioned whether they are allowed to do this as they are often delivering drugs to the pharmacy; this is technically not allowed as despite this, it is a white line and dropped curb so should not be parked over or blocked.

Paul’s requests for people to park elsewhere were received mostly positively- he was polite and many people did move their cars once seeing him or once he had asked them. There were some members of the public who were less polite, became frustrated and sometimes used offensive language, but Paul is happy to continue the parking-watch in future. Rachael and the surgery staff present were very appreciative of this and thanked Paul for his hard work. 

There were occasions where people parked over the bus stop near the surgery after Paul had asked them to move their cars from the dropped curb, or parked on yellow lines in our car park; it was discussed that the bus stop markings and yellow lines need repainting because they are very faint and hard to see when it gets darker. Action- Rachael to speak to the council regarding the bus stop needing repainting, and the landlord regarding repainting the yellow lines in the car park. 

Paul suggested we adopt a marked drop-off point at the surgery to stop people parking inappropriately, for taxis to use to drop off and pick up patients, and for families to use if they need to walk a frail patient into the surgery and then park their cars. It was also discussed that the area for the proposed drop-off zone and the ambulance parking bay could be switched; Rachael will speak to the Partners about adopting a drop-off zone.

Action: Rachael to discuss with Partners.
 

5. Adding Comments to Text Reminders

Ken was not present at this PPG meeting; this item will be carried over to the next meeting.

6. Loose Bricks in the Car Park

Rachael advised that the surgery have had a company out to assess the problem area in the carpark, and we are awaiting a quote from them for the works.

7. Litter Picking

Paul has undertaken some litter picking sessions for the surgery; Rachael thanked him for his hard work. A lot of rubbish ends up in our carpark due to the waste bins/collection over the carpark fence, so Paul was able to pick up a lot of litter and is happy to continue with this.

8. Compliments and Comments from Helen

Helen was not present for this meeting but commented ahead of time that reception had picked up her telephone call very quickly recently and had booked her a next-day blood test appointment.

The check-in screens in reception are still not working, but JX, the company, is working through the issues and hopes to have them fixed soon.

Alison advised that she is taking care to keep pens and paper stocked up by the suggestions box, and that this will be monitored more regularly.

9. Any Other Business (AOB)

The group discussed respect and the PPG code of conduct. It was agreed that the terms were still relevant and applicable, and would continue to be recognised.

Over the Christmas period there was an occasion involving a suicidal patient on the cliffs outside of the surgery; our Mental Health Nurse in particular was able to talk the patient back from the cliff edge and help them, and the surgery received a letter of compliment from the Police for our response to the situation, particularly praising our Mental Health Nurse and her discussions with the patient.

It was brought up that a friend of Jenny P, who is deaf, has recently started using a speech-to-text app to help her understand when she is being spoken to; she lip-reads well, but can struggle when at the surgery when clinicians look at their computer/type their notes during the consultation instead of making eye contact. Jenny P suggested the surgery adopts use of this app to help its deaf patients; Rachael supported this.

Action: Jenny P to send Rachael the details for the speech-to-text app so the surgery can look into using it.

Kathy and Susanne are members of the Citizens Panel and recently went on a tour of the NCL building, which they enjoyed and found very informative. The diagnostic centre and surgery looked good, despite parking seeming difficult. They hope that an audiology service will be put into place there for patients to access.

 

10. Actions for the Next Meeting

1.    Rachael to speak to the council regarding the bus stop needing repainting, and to the landlord regarding repainting the yellow lines in the car park.
2.    Rachael to discuss having a drop-off zone in the carpark with the Partners.
3.    Jenny P to send Rachael the details for the speech-to-text app so the surgery can look into using it.

11. Date of Next Meeting

  • Wednesday 1st April 2026

Earlier PPG Meeting Minutes

For earlier PPG meeting minutes, please contact us to request a copy, stating which date(s) you would like to view.