Title of the group

The group shall be called The Patient Reference Group (PRG) of Copsewood Medical Centre, for Patient Participation.

Aims of the group

• To promote co-operation between the practice and patients to the benefit of both.
• To obtain the views of our service users with a view to improving our services from a usability perspective and a clinical quality perspective.
• A forum for patients to understand what really goes on behind the scenes in a GP practice, making it easier for service users to understand why things are done in a certain way.
• An opportunity to raise awareness of new services through our group members.

Membership of the group

Membership of the group shall be open and free to all registered patients and staff of the practice.

Activities of the group

The group will be kept informed of the practice policies relating to the CCG to which it belongs. It may express opinions on these policies on behalf of the patients.

The group will consult with the practice on service development and provision and assist in the assessment of community medical needs.

The group will contribute to, and be kept informed of, practice decisions.

The group will advise the practice on the education needs of the community by encouraging and supporting activities within the practice to promote preventive medicine and healthy lifestyle choices.

The group will seek to ensure that patient information and advice are readily available and clearly presented.

The group will represent patients at the practice in seeking to influence local provision of health and social care.

To support and influence local commissioning, planning and paying for local services linking to GP led Commissioning Board.

Ground rules

• Turn mobile phones off or switch to silent
• Listen to and respect one another’s views – they’re all equally valid
• There’s no such thing as a stupid question or idea
• Use plain English and explain jargon or abbreviations
• Avoid interrupting others and talking over people
• Matters discussed will be confidential unless otherwise stated
• Avoid discussing personal or individual health cases
• Don’t make assumptions and put any personal preconceptions aside
• Make criticism constructive

What it is not

Not a forum for individual complaints.

Not an appreciation society. We need to get a healthy balance between due praise and constructive challenge, not an exclusive or elite group. We must be mindful that the group should represent a wide range of patients and their needs: the young, the old, mental health service users, travellers, people with learning disabilities etc. it doesn’t come with rights or privileges around accessing and approaching the practice.

Meetings of the group

The group will endeavour to meet 1 or 2 times per year.

Notices of meetings, reports on meetings and information about the PRG’s activities will be displayed on Copsewood Medical Centre’s web page, and members will be notified by phone to text alert and through the post when necessary.

Organisation of the group

The group’s activities will be organised by the volunteers, invited members and a practice representative, either GP or practice manager.

Administrative assistance will be provided by staff at the practice.