Minutes of Seaford Medical Practice Patient Participation Group Held Saturday 26Th November 2011

MINUTES OF SEAFORD MEDICAL PRACTICE (SMP) PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP (PPG) HELD SATURDAY 31st MAY 2014.

1. Introductions 1.1 There were a few new members attending the meeting so everyone was invited to introduce themselves.

2. Minutes of last meeting 2.1 (5.2) Dr Barnes advised that he had discussed with Phil Abbott the feasibility of phoning patients whose repeat prescriptions were delayed due to queries, and he suggested that the time to ring the patients would lead to delays in the production of prescriptions as there is only finite resource available. 2.2 The meeting agreed that the minutes of the previous meeting reflected a true and fair record of that meeting.

3. Update on new queue system ticket machine 3.1 There is no further update. £200 has been pledged by the Lionesses. SS to approach Trevor Gomershall at the Lions. MC suggested the Rotarians be approached if further funding required.

4. Line of communication between GPs and District Nurses 4.1 Dr Barnes outlined the current relationship between the GPs and district nurses. Weekly meetings between the 2 parties no longer take place as the DNs are now under the control of the Acute Trust (ESHT). There are concerns around the trust not providing enough nurses. The GPs therefore do not liaise with the DNs directly to ensure all requirements go through the single point of contact thereby ensuring that official stats realistically reflect the real demands on nurse usage.

5. Possibility of priority appointments for young children 5.1 The discussion was around a posting on a Seaford community facebook page by a mother who was upset about not being able to get an appointment for her young child. 5.2 SS advised that she did post a request that anyone who had similar issues could contact her as chairperson of the SMP PPG, however to date there has been no communication. 5.3 Dr Barnes then advised that group of the new duty doctor system that starts wef 2/6/14. The duty doctor will ring all patients requesting an emergency appointment on the day, and if required will then book them an appointment. This process will enable more patients to have access to a doctor and ensure that patients requiring urgent attention get an appointment.

6. News /update from the practice 6.1 Two new GPs are joining the practice to cover the 3 GPs who are retiring at the year end. There has been some bad press around the re-allocation of patients to the new doctors for which Dr Barnes apologised. If patients wish to change their appointed doctor, the practice will action these requests. 6.2 Horder Healthcare update – it is hoped that the building will be functional wef July, but this is based on who wins the tender for the MSK contract. Services to be provided are still unclear as it is dependent on who wins the contract. 6.3 The group queried whether there could be a dialysis machine at the centre. Specialist staff would be required for this. 6.4 There was a discussion around AF / pulse checking of patients when attending the practice. It is not carried out on every patient but GPs would carry out such an examination for a number of different situations. 6.5 The group questioned whether SMP can influence the services being offered at the Horder centre. Both Seaford practices have formed a partnership with the Horder with the aim of improving services within Seaford. 6.6 East Sussex Healthwatch carried out an inspection of EDGH recently, the results were satisfactory. 6.7 DB was involved in an audit of the Horder centre – the results were very good. 6.8 The shingles vaccination age guidelines were passed to SS to be put onto the PPG noticeboard. 6.9 The Seahaven Paragames flyer was passed to SS to be put on the notice board. 6.10 SS asked the new members their views on the meeting – they felt that they were able to get their points across and the meeting was as expected. 6.11 The group were very positive about the new PPG noticeboard – thanks to Sue. 6.12 An Afternoon Tea will be held at the Blatchington Golf Club in aid of LIBRA, 19th August, which is being run by the Lionnesses. MC will bring tickets for the event to the next meeting.

6.13 Next meeting will be 16th August 2014 at 9.30am.

Attendees

Sue Smith (Chair) Pam Burleigh David Burleigh Jane Macefield (SMP) Roy Dobson Zena Gibbs Veronica Holden Dr Mark Barnes (SMP) Penny Lower David Lawrance Jackie Gordon Maggie Chitty Shirley Jones Charis Isted

Apologies

Phil Abbott (SMP) Graham Weatherill Sue Gales Clive Lacey Val Callon Kate Parkinson