AN INTRODUCTION TO THE

WELLINGTONMEDICAL CENTRE

PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP

We are an independent groupof volunteers drawn from within the registered patient list of the two practices that together comprise the Wellington Medical Centre.   

The object of the Patient Participation Group is to promote therelief of sickness and the preservation and protection of health for the publicbenefit by fostering the highest possible standard of primary medical carethrough the medium of patient participation.             

The aims of the Patient Participation Group are

·          Communication :- members of the group will act as a communication channel between theWellington Medical Centre team and the local community in order to helppatients use the facilities to the best advantage and the practice to implementpolicies influenced by representative patient view.         

See page on joining Patient Reference Group.

·         Fund Raising :-  the Group has the option to act as a focusfor funding raising activities.  Thisincludes undertaking work to enable the Medical Centre to gain additionalfunding from the Primary Care Trust and NHS.

·         Health Education :- the group will advise the Medical Centre of health education needs inthe community in order for the Medical Centre to provide appropriate and usefulhealth education meetings.

This ‘advice’ will bedetermined in the future by the group collating information gathered via the Patient Reference Group and patientsusing the surgery and where necessary targeting surveys on sections of thecommunity to determine these requirements more accurately.

·         Primary Care Trust :- the group, or successor organisation, will be informed of the generalpractice policies relating to Somerset Primary Care Trust to which the MedicalCentre belongs.  The Group will expressopinions on these policies on behalf of the patients.  The Practice will give appropriateconsideration to these opinions within the Somerset Primary Care Trust [ andits NHS successors within then current guidelines ]

Elected Officers from thePatient Group will attend meetings / conferences with NHS Somerset and otherservice providers and will seek to represent the views of the Patients andWellington Medical Centre.  They willpass on information gathered to the wider patient community, and will whennecessary seek to gather the community response.

Membership:-

Membership of the group shallbe open and free to patients and staff subject to the following.

Members will be expected tosign and comply with the CONFIDENTIALITYAGREEMENT drawn up by the Medical Centre and Patient ParticipationGroup.       

The Medical Centre must beconsulted with regard to all new applicants and they will have the final saywith regard to membership.

No applicant for membershipwill be considered if the patient has a record of anti-social behaviour towardsany employees or users of the Medical Centre. 

If such anti-socialbehaviour is deems to have taken place whilst a member, then that person’s membershipof the group would be immediately terminated.

Attendance at Meetings

Any patient registered withthe practices can attend Patient Group meetings as a guest.  However, guests will be asked to leave themeeting if any items on the agenda are subject to Confidentiality Agreement.

Guests are not permitted tointervene, or vote during meetings but can ask members to act as theirrepresentative.

Treatment Confidentiality

No discussion related to anypatients actual Medical Treatment whilst a patient at the Medical Centre orsubject to a referral from a Doctor at the Medical Centre will be entered intoas it falls outside of the Constitution of the group.

Any member or applicant tothe group attempting to raise treatment as an issue will be warned by Chair ofgroup and continued attempts to do so will result in expulsion from group.

Volunteering

The more active members of the group may be asked tovolunteer their time to assist the Medical Centre in undertaking its normalactivities or activities that will then promote the patient / medical centre /NHS relationship