All GP Practices in England are expected to have in place a patient participation group (PPG) as part of meeting their contract with the tax payer.

NHS England believes GP Practices have an important role in explaining to the general public, not just patients, the coming changes to services and pressing health care issues. The health care budget will never meet demand and it is important the public understand the issues and can give informed views on priorities.

Ixworth Surgery formed a Patients Association (and pioneered the PPG concept) back in the early 1980’s to help fund equipment and run a taxi service for patients who could not get to the Surgery. Alas, over the years, only a couple of villages now send representatives to meetings or offer feedback.

With increasing workloads the partners have also become less inclined to spend time on educational events. The number of volunteer taxi drivers has also declined. Stanton has a PPG with regular education and feedback events but struggles to find members to represent young families. Also it has not been able to recruit staff or get permission to extend their building and believes they are under pressure from NHS England to merge or network with adjacent Practices.

If you are interested in the future of our local GP Surgeries and would like to provide feedback or ideas for educational events please contact me 01359 268082 or graeme@Lmrinternational.co.uk From Graeme Norris, West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group

   Ixworth Patients’ Association

Ixworth Patients’ Association is a registered charity - formed in 1988. The aim is to benefit the health and wellbeing of patients registered with Ixworth Surgery by:

1. Providing a transport service to enable patients who would otherwise find it difficult to attend appointments.

2. Arranging educational events on relevant aspects of health and wellbeing.

3. Funding initiatives that would not otherwise be provided by the statutory authorities.

The transport service is run by DBS verified volunteers who take some 20 patients every week to and from appointments. A small donation is expected to cover expenses. We are always seeking volunteers to help - so don’t hesitate to find out more by contacting the Practice Manager, Josh Williams: 01359 230 252

The GPs are very busy and time to prepare and run educational sessions has dwindled. The Association has been working with the other GP Practices in our Blackbourne Primary Care Network (Botesdale, Woolpit and Stanton) to organise webinars on health topics. Sessions on heart disease and dementia support were well attended but hindered by data protection legislation in contacting patients who might have been interested. If you are interested in keeping informed you must formally “opt-in” by notifying the Surgery.

Using the information from Suffolk Public Health on their place-based needs analysis, a number of initiatives were identified that the Association might usefully address. Hypertension is high in our area and so the Association decided to help fund the Health Kiosk in the Surgery to measure blood-pressure and calculate BMI. Atrial Fibrillation monitors are being proposed. The placed-based needs also showed asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (bronchitis & emphysema) are relatively high compared to the rest of Suffolk - and cancer detection and prompt treatment.

Volunteers from the Association also help conduct regular surveys of patient satisfaction with the services offered by the Surgery. The feedback is discussed with the GPs and any action. The Association takes an active role in the various consultations organised by the NHS and Healthwatch.

It is the policy of the Surgery that when a person reaches sixteen-years old they become responsible for their own medical record. They can make their own appointments and decisions about their care. Health professionals are no longer allowed to release medical information to their parents or guardians without written consent. To help young people, a guide to the wide range of health and wellbeing services that are available in our area has been documented in a booklet @16.

The Association also continues to support the "Let it Grow" gardening sessions at Langham Walled Garden to support those with depression and anxiety; and the “Healthy Together” programme to assist people with long term mental health issues to get regular check-ups.

If you would like to know more about the activities of the Association please don’t hesitate to contact the Chairman of the Trustees, Dr Graeme Norris: graemenorris46@gmail.com