Patient Participation Group

Background

3W Health’s Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a forum of around 40 patients from the three surgeries of 3W Health in Whitchurch, Wing and Winslow. This group has replaced the individual PPGs that were previously associated with each surgery before the formation of 3W Health.

What does a PPG do?

The NHS requires every doctor’s practice to have a PPG to gather and respond to patient feedback. An effective PPG collaborates with the practice to enhance the service for all patients. Typically, it’s led by volunteers and supported by the practice. The PPG should ideally represent the diverse patient population registered at the practice. While there are no strict guidelines on how a PPG should be run, most PPGs follow a similar structure. A PPG can decide how it operates depending on the number of members and its goals.

What doesn’t it do?

The PPG should not, and legally cannot, handle individual complaints. All practices, including 3W Health, have procedures in place for addressing complaints confidentially.

Is the PPG the only patient-based group for the practice?

No – while the Patient Participation Group focuses on providing the practice with patient perspectives on its activities, there is another group called the – the ‘Friends of 3W Health’ -that focuses on raising funds to support the practice by financing useful equipment for the surgeries.

Who’s in charge of a PPG?

The patient members of a PPG oversee its activities, typically led or guided by a small committee. A successful PPG needs the support of the practice, and at 3W Health, this support comes from the Operations Manager and the Senior GP Partner.

How does the 3W Health PPG work?

Our PPG is led by a small committee consisting of the PPG’s Chair, Secretary, and Sub-group Chairs. Currently, we have three sub-groups focusing on Service Improvement, Patient Support, and Communications.

PPG Meetings and Projects

PPG members typically meet 3 or 4 times a year for 1½ hours in the evening at Winslow Health Centre, though the schedule is flexible. Members also engage in smaller special interest groups on an ad hoc basis, meeting either in person or online to work on specific projects. We also have virtual members who contribute their views. Much of our project work is developed offline and shared via email among individuals and small groups.

What sort of projects?

In recent months, we have:

• Critiqued the 3W Health website from a patient’s perspective and suggested improvements.
• Reviewed and made recommendations to improve the 3W Health Complaints Policy and Procedures.
• Designed and developed a support package for NHS App users.
• Contributed to the local NHS Primary Care Strategy.
• Created a 3W Health-specific Patient Satisfaction Survey to be conducted in Autumn 2024.

These and other similar topics will continue to be managed by the relevant PPG sub-groups.

Membership

Membership of the PPG is open to all registered patients of 3W Health. With nearly 20,000 registered patients, we have a wealth of talent and experience to draw from. We are always keen to hear from individuals of all ages, who have one or more of the following:

• Previous PPG experience
• NHS knowledge, especially in primary care and general practice
• Condition-specific patient support experience, e.g., Diabetes, Dementia, COPD groups, etc.
• Carer experience
• Reporting, editing, and publishing skills to assist with written communications
• Media and technical skills to help with multi-media communications
• IT skills to help the PPG and 3W Health make the best use of technology
• The time and interest to actively participate in helping 3W Health staff provide the best possible care for all patients

How to join

Please complete a Registration Form and email your completed form to 3W Health PPG.