Ashford Medical Partnership (AMP)
Patients Participation Group
Minutes of face to face meeting Willesborough Health Centre
Held Tuesday 12th December 2023 18:30
Attendees:
AMP:
Jo Shepherd
Dr Navin Kumta
Tim Pethick
PPG:
- Melany Sandor-Klinyec (MSK) Chair
- Afta Khan
- Martin Bennett
- Robert Carr
- Melonie Pentecost
- Liz Wright
- Lorraine Monkhouse
- David Pieris
- Gina English
- Derek Light
Welcome:
Melany Sandor welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced herself as the newly elected Chair and invited everyone to introduce themselves round the table.
Apologies and opening comments:
Apologies of attendance advised to Tim prior to the meeting from Fran Turner, Denise Hoare and Dhanuja Varghese.
MSK advised that this being the first meeting since March, no agenda had been circulated prior to this meeting. This was to have a more open discussion on the status of previous meetings actions and how to reinstate the PPG with clear actions and objectives moving forward.
All subsequent meetings will have an agenda sent 2 weeks prior to the meeting for any additions to be covered.
Minutes of meeting 7th March 2023
TP advised the minutes of the meeting had not been circulated due to the draft copy not having been finalised and agreed remaining on AMP server and inadvertently deleted during cleaning of files.
Matters arising from meeting 7th March 2023
Fundraising monies of £587 had been used for replacement ECG and not fridge data loggers.
DU had previously questioned how the PPG would fit into the K&M ICB as this was unclear. It was clarified that within the new ICB structure there is no longer a statute requirement to have a PPG member. It is therefore suggested contact with Ashford Borough Council Health and Wellbeing Board/Integrated Healthcare and other PPG Groups within Ashford.
Action:
MSK to reach out to these groups and advise back to the group
Formation of core group within the PPG. MSK advised this should be reviewed when there is a more representative group to cover varied demographic segmentation and will be added to an action list.
It is agreed that the structure of the PPG is to include a Vice Chair and a Secretary whilst currently a Treasure is not required.
Vice Chair is agreed and appointed to be Martin Bennett
As there are no volunteer PPG members that can commit to Secretary currently; it is agreed that when subsequent agendas are circulated a request for a secretary for that meeting is made. At the point on the subsequent meeting if no volunteer has come forward a PPG member will be requested at the meeting.
Open Discussion
The general opinion of the group is that communication between AMP and patients needs addressing and therefore the discussion centres around this issue and the approach.
In order to understand the demographic segmentation to target communication and flow of information TP was asked to comment on supporting data. TP commented on the AMP patient population:
- AMP has around 36,500 patients (about 4 times the size of the average GP practice in the UK)
- But the ‘weighted’ population is about 32,000. TP explained the difference is based on the make-up of the patient population with those patients who are considered to require less healthcare (e.g. younger patients; but it is more complex than this) being discounted for funding purposes.
- The average age of AMP patients is 37 years old, this makes the demographic much younger than average.
- There is also a language challenge due to the large population of Nepalese patients. To address this AMP is in the process of recruiting a Nepalese speaking receptionist.
New patients registering at the surgery are given information on the PPG
Due to lost information TP has had to recreate the list of patients on the PPG list and this currently sits at 180 names registered.
Action:
TP to provide demographic segmentation of patients registered with AMP
TP to provide list and email addressed to MSK of patients registered on the PPG list
TP advised there is an update to the AMP website with completion is approx. 8 weeks. This will enable information updates to be done by AMP staff and not a 3rd party. Once complete previous minutes and information from the PPG can be added.
Text messaging can be used to also contact patients along with Facebook also used as forms of communication.
Alternatives are needed for those without phones or able to be online. Posters are displayed in surgeries but not necessarily clear what the group is and how they can be a part of it.
Gina has agreed to assist in drafting a communication flyer that could be displayed in surgeries, on Facebook and the website.
TP also confirms the new website will have multilingual capability.
KLINIK system has had some good feedback in comparison to e-consult although as data is gathered improvements can be made and better understanding of the system requirements can be communicated.
TP highlighted the lack of funding with NHS budget allocated to primary care having reduced from 11% to 7.2% and is continually squeezed year on year. Primary care demand is high with fewer resources, Kent in particular has fewer resource and is in crisis.
KLINIK is a triage system open from 7:30am to 4:30pm with ipads available in surgeries (request use from reception) for those that cannot access from home.
Clinician reviews and appointments given based on need and not on demand. However the appointments that can be given only skim the top and demand cannot be fully met with existing capacity.
Tutorial on KLINIK is needed with simple steps communicated with scenarios and it should be explored how to communicate this either through Facebook or on the website etc. Add to actions to review.
TP advised patient numbers that request appointments during a 12 month period as 1/3 request no appointments 1/3 request once per year and 1/3 have multiple requests.
TP advised the KLINIK system is still under- utilised with many patients still trying to call the practice rather than using Klinik – 14000 calls by 21 staff members able to take calls, however these staff members have administration tasks and are spending many hours supporting patients by completing the KLINIK questions for patients which also clogs up phone lines. The aspiration is that phone lines should be used only by those in need such as the older demographic.
TP advised more on how funding from the NHS works. GP practices are not paid based on service delivery, they are paid based on the weighted number of patients registered to the practice. This payment average about £104 per year per weighted patient. This £104 represents about one hour’s worth of time for a GP on a fully loaded basis. It is therefore key that patients utilise the KLINIK system to its fullest capability to achieve efficiency and provide the best service to patients as possible.
It is clear to the PPG team that communication is a key objective and as such will assist AMP in it actions to address this.
Date of next meeting Tuesday 5th March 2024