The Patient Group

THE MEDICAL GROUP - THE PATIENT GROUP

The Patient Group was started 9 years ago and in that time we have helped effect change in a number of areas; for example on-line appointments, telephone consultations, surgery opening hours, information on prescriptions and parking as well as encouraging patients to complete Healthwatch cancer screening surveys . We now have a membership of 36 patients, 18 male and 18 female with an age range of 34-83 and we meet most months. We discuss a range of health-related issues; for example recently we have discussed out of hours provision, patient transport, disposal of medicines and counselling services. We have a range of speakers and members take part in training and development events; for example a number of members joined with practice staff in becoming Dementia Friends.

Meetings in 2020:

2020 Meeting dates will be:-

Monday 27^th January - Meadowfield
Tuesday 24th March – Ushaw Moor
Monday 1^st June – Esh Winning
Tuesday 28^th July – Tow Law
Monday 28^th September – Langley Park
Tuesday 24^th November - Meadowfield
All meetings are held at 6pm

Meetings are held on a rotational basis. Meetings are held on an evening between 6.00pm - 7.00pm. Minutes of The Patient Group meetings are displayed in each surgery and we also have our own column in the practice newsletter.

Members can also contribute via email or letter as per the Join our Patient Group section. Currently 2 members who are unable to attend meetings contribute in this way.

Please see Patient Survey Report tab for information about how our group assists the Practice in reviewing patient feedback.

Care Quality Commission

Members of our Patient Group have set up a sub group to review the CQC Standards . The Group are keen to be involved when CQC Inspectors carry out their inspection of The Medical Group. Sub group members have provided the following information about our group and it's involvement in practice issues; this information is also available on the Patient Group notice boards, which can be found in the reception area of each of our surgery sites:

The Medical Group is one of 31 GP practices who have come together to commission (or buy) local health services for people in North Durham. This consortium is known as The North Durham Clinical Commissioning Group (North Durham CCG). On 1 April 2013 the North Durham CCG took full responsibility for planning and purchasing a range of health services for people in Durham, Chester-le-Street and Derwentside. 5 members of our Patient Reference Group attend the monthly meetings of the North Durham CCG Patient Reference Group.

By law all GP practices in England must make sure that the care and treatment they provide meets national standards of quality and safety. Pratices must be registered with the Care Quality Commission whose role is to monitor, inspect and regulate services. As part of this process they inspect GP practices and talk to staff and patients and look at patients' experience of care, as well as checking systems and processes. The Patient Reference Group will be involved when the Medical Group is inspected and a small group of members have worked with the Practice Manager to prepare. In addition, the CQC inspectors will talk to patients attending the surgery whilst the inspection is taking place.

2016 Achievements

Please click on the link to view the PowerPoint of achievements made in 2016 PowerPoint Presentation

PLEASE NOTE; Members of our group are unable to deal with individual issues. If you have any concerns/complaints/comments please contact the Practice Manager, Mrs Lesley Hunter on 0191 3780651

THE PATIENT GROUP

MEMBERS WANTED

TO JOIN OUR

PATIENT GROUP

Ø Are you interested to learn more about the changes in the NHS and how these may affect you as patients?

Ø Would you like to pro-actively contribute to the development of services in the practice?

Ø Would you like to support the commissioning of health services for the wider population?

IF THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS IS YES PLEASE COMPLETE A SIGN UP FORM.

complete the form Complete the Patient Group Sign-up Form Online

If you prefer, you can download the sign up form as a pdf document, print it out, complete it and return it to the practice.

download the pdf form Download the pdf version of our sign up form

We are keen to gain feedback from a representative cross section of our practice population. We are aware that it can be difficult to be involved when you have work/caring committments but even if you are unable to attend our meetings you can still be involved by letting us know your views by e-mail or letter.

We will be in touch shortly after we receive your form. Please note that no medical information or questions will be responded to.

Many thanks for your assistance

The information you supply us will be used lawfully, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to know what information is held about you and sets out rules to make sure that this information is handled properly.