Patient Participation Group

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.

Latest Meeting Minutes

• Date: 22nd October 2025
• Apologies: Jenny, Martin, Ken
• Attendees: Rachael, Alison, Sophie, Becky, 6 PPG members   

1. Welcome and Review of Previous Minutes

Rachael welcomed the group to the meeting and everyone introduced themselves.

These were discussed and approved by the group. Rachael explained that the previous minutes were created using AI; it was raised that one point which was brought up in the meeting did not appear in the minutes and that this may have been due to the AI. Rachael explained that Sophie has now joined the team and will be taking the minutes going forward.

Patient kiosks - Jamie is finishing the set-up of the patient kiosks which will be ready-to-use soon.

Dropped curb outside of Practice - There has now been a white line drawn to mark the dropped curb area. People have still been parking across the curb since the line has been implemented; a “No Parking” sign was suggested but Rachael advised the Highway team would likely not approve this. Ken volunteered to man the dropped curb area to advise people not to park there  - he has gotten approval from the Police and will trial this.

PPG Skills - This item was added to this meeting’s agenda for discussion.

2. Becky B, Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW)

Becky introduced herself as a SPLW for Bethesda Medical Centre (BMC). She has been in her role for 4 years. She explained that she is not clinical but social, working to link people with the right services. She does a lot of work with homeless people and the Forward Trust to link them with the surgery and other appropriate services. Becky works with another SPLW, Andrea, at BMC. She also is involved in safeguarding and works closely with Becky Brown, the surgery’s Safeguarding Lead.  Helen asked if Becky’s work was linked to the NHS South East England initiative; Becky explained that it is not directly linked but is similar.

Becky discussed the Rise Team and explained that it includes staff from Invicta and the Forward Trust, among others. Rise’s lack of homeless shelter was discussed, as well as the lack of Police responsibility surrounding antisocial behaviour at Rise’s previous shelter. The group agreed that the Salvation Army has a campaign to help rough-sleepers, but that their phone-lines to volunteer are always blocked. 

The group discussed that there can be a lot of factors which can make a person ill, like abusive relationships, addiction or stress, and that the possible presence of these factors should be considered when people attend the surgery for physical illnesses. 

It was asked how patients access the Frailty Team and if you have to be referred; Rachael explained that you don’t need a referral and can request contact with them via the surgery. The group discussed the positive impact of the Frailty Team, but also the drawbacks of some people not knowing about it or how to access them. The term “Frailty” was debated in terms of its influence on patients accessing the team; namely the negative associations the word can have. It was suggested that the team could be referred to as the “Social Support Team” to encourage more engagement; and also that the BMC website could contain more information about the team. Action: Name change to be considered, website information to be updated if necessary.

3. Staff Changes

Rachael explained that Dr Vasudevan (Dr Guru) has started with the surgery and that he now has his own patient list. The surgery is in the process of changing some patients’ GP to Dr Guru, and if you are allocated to him you will receive a text. We are also having another GP, Dr Rakha, join us in November 2025.

It was asked what the process is should a patient call to make an appointment with their GP, but their doctor is not in. Alison explained that you would be booked in with another GP in these cases; some members of the group had been told by reception that if their named GP wasn’t in, they’d have to call back on a day they were working. This should not happen, and if anyone does receive a message like this they should ask to speak to Alison.

The group discussed the difficulties of seeing your own GP, and the differences in GP working patterns compared to previous times.

4. A & E Refurbishment at the QEQM

Kathy explained that the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital (QEQM) and the William Harvey Hospital (WHH) have been granted £21 million for A&E refurbishment. The QEQM plans to refurbish the Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) department, and build a large extension which will include 18 recliners and 18 rooms with en-suite bathrooms. The Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) will also be relocated on the hospital grounds. There will be disruption in the hospital at this time.

Susanne shared a recent A&E experience which was positive; patients were quickly triaged and then moved to different rooms depending on their needs, stopping them sitting for hours in the small A&E department. The group also discussed the negative media attention and reputation that A&E gets.

Kathy explained that she is part of the Patient Voice and Involvement Team, and will send the details to the group regarding signing up to the Team.

The group explained they would be happy to volunteer at BMC if needed; Rachael was very appreciative of this and will consider Litter Picking, Flu Clinic Assistance and Paul’s offer of manning the dropped curb.

When asked if Reception direct patients to A&E regularly, Alison explained that Reception never advise A&E attendance unless in an emergency. Some members of the group advised that they had previously been told by Reception to attend A&E; it was acknowledged that this is no longer the process.

5. Anima

Susanne described a negative Anima experience she recently had. She had tried to complete an Anima request for her husband and took time to answer the questions and provide accurate information; however, when she went to submit her request, Anima told her that it wasn’t taking any more requests and that she’d have to re-submit her request the next day. This was not the service which Susanne expected and it shocked her. Alison and Rachael explained that this should not have happened; Anima is open from 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM each working day and should always be accessible during these times.  Action: Rachael/Alison to raise this issue with Jamie.

Alison was asked what information the team needed patients to provide in Anima requests - Alison explained that direct information about the problem and/or what the patient needs from the surgery would be the most helpful. She advised that Anima does use AI, but that every request is also read by a person in the team.

6. Answering the Phone and Staff Information

Ken had asked that staff give patients extra time to answer their phone when they call, as it can be difficult to reach the phone in time. Alison stated that we do do this, but it can be hard if staff cannot hear the patient or vice versa. Reception are expected to call back if they cannot get through to a patient.

Ken had also asked that signs be added to explain which staff work upstairs and downstairs at BMC to make it clearer where you need to go for appointments. This was debated but the group agreed that there is a lot of signage around BMC anyway, and that most appointments do not go ahead upstairs. Rachael confirmed that a patient should only need to go upstairs if they have been directed there by Reception first. No further action.

7. PWG Skills

Paul had previously suggested that as group members don’t know a lot about each other’s previous experience and skills, that members share these with the group. Paul had sent Rachael his CV to show his skills, and Rachael stated that other members were welcome to do this if they wished. Some members of the group felt that sharing their CVs was very personal and preferred to keep things private; Paul explained that he just wanted to be able to get to know the others’ skills and experiences and not necessarily have them submit their CVs.

This was discussed and the group agreed that they’d be happy to share their skills. Action: Group members to send their skills/experience to Rachael if they wish for these to be shared.

8. Any Other Business (AOB)

Rachael informed the group that if they or anyone they knew (who meets the criteria) still need to have their flu jab, BMC is running a clinic on the 1st November 2025.

The lack of a GP in the PWG was discussed - Rachael confirmed Dr Sohail will be joining the next PWG meeting.

The Thanet Health Hub has opened, but there is no audiology service there. Kathy suggested that Helen could raise this at the Citizens Academy, which Helen agreed to do. Action: Helen to raise this with Citizens Academy.

Ellen brought up the lack of female GPs at BMC; she had seen a Facebook post mentioning this and also posts about patients not being told when their GP has changed. The group discussed that Facebook and apps alike are not always completely true, and that if any PWG member sees negative comments about BMC they can advise the commenter to contact the surgery to address their concerns if they wish to do so.

Chicken pox vaccines were discussed at the last meeting; they are now being done for under-two’s.

Amanda explained that she had recently been asked to go to Canterbury for a medical appointment and that she had found this difficult as she can find driving causes anxiety. The group discussed that appointments in further-away areas are difficult to access. Patient Transport is a service patients can access but it is difficult to meet their criteria; there is also a volunteer driver’s scheme in Kent which patients can access for a cost. Kathy will send Rachael their details, and Becky will send details of another volunteer driver’s service she knows of. Action: Kathy and Becky to provide details of volunteer drivers’ schemes.

It was questioned if BMC provide COPD reviews; we do and if someone or someone they know have COPD reviews but haven’t been contacted, they can call and ask to speak to Alison so she can look into this.

9. Actions for Next Meeting

1.    Frailty Team name change to be considered, and BMC website information to be updated if necessary.
2.    Rachael/Alison to raise Anima issue with Jamie.
3.    Group members to send their skills/experience to Rachael if they wish for these to be shared.
4.    Helen to discuss the Thanet Health Hub with the Citizens Academy.
5.    Becky and Kathy to send Rachael information regarding Kent volunteer driver’s schemes, to be shared with the group.

10. Date of Next Meeting

• Wednesday 7th January 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.