GP practices and PCNs have been asked to engage patients in conversations about the 10-year health plan by 14 February, as part of a ‘national conversation’ about the future of the NHS.
In a primary care bulletin last week sent earlier this month, NHS England asked surgeries and networks to engage with their patient participation groups (PPGs) to share their voices, experiences and ideas of how the NHS could improve.
It said: ‘Alongside our ongoing call for the public, staff and the wider health and care community to share their thoughts on the ambitions for the NHS and healthcare, we are making a specific ask for GP practices to connect with their Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) to engage in Change NHS.’
It suggested using the ‘workshop in a box’ resource to help engage patients, which is a tool that includes a facilitator briefing guide, a set of slides to help run a workshop and a feedback form to share what practices hear.
The tool recommends that a workshop includes an introduction to the 10-year plan and looks at the challenges and impact of each of the Government’s three priorities for reform in the NHS, which are: moving more care from hospitals to the community, switching the NHS from analogue to digital and a focus on prevention of sickness. Around 30 minutes could be spent gathering feedback on each area, it has suggested.
NHS England confirmed that the 14 February deadline applies to the submission of PPG session feedback and is not the deadline for when the wider 10-year-plan consultation closes, which will be in the spring.
GP practice teams have been encouraged to contribute to the consultation too and can share their views and ideas for ‘fixing the NHS’ on an online platform Change.NHS.uk, or via the NHS App.
Meanwhile, at a recent event held by our sister title Pulse PCN, Feltham and Bedfont PCN discussed its set up of a network-wide PPG to improve patient engagement, following a drop in involvement post-Covid.
‘The practice experienced a significant decline in participation in their PPGs following the Covid-19 pandemic,’ said Orika Riley senior PCN manager.
‘Additionally, the PCN acknowledged the increasing volume of contracts and directives being channelled through the PCN, highlighting the importance of strong patient engagement.
‘We also viewed this as an opportunity to increase patient awareness of the PCN and the various services it offers.’
She added that in their first PCN-wide PPG meeting they had 45 attendees.
‘We have held a total of four PPG meetings to date, during which we successfully engaged with patients across the PCN,’ said Ms Riley.
‘These meetings provided a valuable opportunity for patients to share their feedback and suggestions, leading to the implementation of several changes based on their input. This collaborative approach has allowed us to work more closely with patients, fostering a stronger partnership and enhancing overall engagement,’ she added.
A version of this article was first published by our sister title, Pulse PCN
