Our next meeting will be on :

Thursday 8th April at 6pm - at the surgery

Welcome to our web page. The patient participation group has helped set up the web site and we hope you will find it useful.

We do hope you have seen the PPG Notice Board on the wall just inside the door at the Practice, but some of the information displayed there is also on these pages for your convenience. This includes our latest Newsletter and more about why we exist and what our role is.

At present, our members are: James Muir (Chairman), Isla Cuthbert (Secretary), Ross MacGillivray (Treasurer), Jen Cawthorne, Denis Lumsden, Pat Spence, Katrion Chappell and Ken Davidson.

The group benefits from some annual funding from a section of the South East Highland Community Health Partnership (CHP) of NHS Highland. So far we have used it to produce our newsletters; provide an adjustable consultation couch at the Practice for use by visiting Allied Health Professionals; provide privacy screening and health information display space in the waiting room / reception area and we are helping to fund this Practice web-site.

Please read on for more detailed information on the role of our PPG at the Dunedin Practice and also remember that we are your representatives and that you can join the Group at any time. If necessary, help with transport and even child-minding – to get to our meetings could be provided.

Our group meets every 6 weeks for an hour or so, to discuss the running of the practice with the manager or GP partner. We would like more patients to join us. If you would like to come to these meetings or have any issue which you would like to be discussed, then you are most welcome to ring the chairman at (01463) 230264. You can also use the suggestion box in the reception area.

Who We Are and What We Can Do With Your Help

Dunedin Patient Participation Group was established at the same time as the Practice in January 2007 and consists of the Practice Manager, a Doctor, a Nursing representative and Patient representatives from the Practice. The key contact for the Group is the Chairman of the Patient Participation Group.

AIMS – THE GROUP EXISTS TO:

1. Bring the wishes and concerns of the Patients to the notice of the Doctors and other professionals and Partners in the Dunedin Medical Practice and explore ways of working together to resolve any issues.
    
2. Seek ways of supporting the improvement of healthcare and health education at Dunedin Medical Practice, including conducting surveys on occasion in order to develop and monitor the Practice Aims and Standards.
    
3. The Group will be informed of the general practice policies relating to the South - East (S.E.) Highland Community Health Partnership (CHP), to which the Practice belongs and also has the mandate to express an opinion on these policies on behalf of the patients.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US? ALL WELCOME:
Our Meetings are on Thursday evenings at 6 pm. Please see our Notice Board just inside the entrance door for details of our next meeting.

JOINT PPG MEETINGS:
There are other PPGs attached to different Medical Practices in and around Inverness and we meet up with them a few times a year to share ideas and learn more about Service provision. Members of each PPG are encouraged to attend, but this is not essential.

THE WIDER PICTURE:
Opportunities do exist for members to become involved in the wider work of the NHS. Please contact the Chairman of the Group for further details on this or anything else in this booklet, which we hope you have found helpful and informative. Please remember that you can use the wee suggestion box at reception or call the PPG Chairman, Susie Iredale, on Inverness 226273 with any ideas on how we might be able to improve the service you receive at the Dunedin Medical Practice.

ROLE OF THE GROUP:
To promote communication between Patients and the Practice in response to their needs and to the changes in the NHS.
To examine, and if appropriate, action issues raised by either the Practice staff or Patients, supporting improvements in healthcare where ever possible.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION:

The PPG has a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer:

CHAIRMAN – To be elected for a min. of 1 year and a max. of 2 years, with possible re-election thereafter.

SECRETARY – As the Chairman, but with a duty:
To minute the Group’s meetings and liaise with the Chairman on correspondence.
To circulate the Agenda for meetings and Minutes of the previous meeting before the next one.
To work with the Group’s Newsletter Editor.

TREASURER – As the Chairman, but with a duty:
To oversee and track the agreed use of the allocated funds in any financial year and to report this to the Group at each meeting.

FINANCE
The Inverness Locality, part of the S.E. Highland CHP, has been allocated funding to establish and support PPGs. Requests for funding must be submitted annually to the Inverness Locality Executive Group for the next financial year usually by the Practice Manager. Funding awarded may then be used in the forthcoming financial year at the sole discretion of the Patient Participation Group.

GROUP MEMBERSHIP – For details see introduction.

The Patient sector of the Group should represent a diversity of age, background, interests and skills, use of which will be encouraged.

Patient recruitment may be by invitation, response to adverts (including use of web-site) or by volunteering.

Patient representatives will usually serve a minimum of 2 years and should attend meetings as appropriate.

These are some of our members:

Here are some of our members at one of their monthly meetings:

GROUP MEETINGS 

Meetings will be held throughout the year on the Practice premises. Meetings last an hour only and dates and times are set in advance.

Specific subjects and tasks may be referred to a sub-group for discussion with subsequent reporting to the full Group, which will have a quorum of 4 Patient reps.

BUSINESS AND POLICY MAKING

Policies will be decided within the Group. We will keep you posted, but would very much like more patients to be part of this process.

Implementation and Review - results will be monitored and we would very much welcome your participation and feedback.

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Information on this website is for registered patients only and should not be used as a substitute for seeking advice from a GP
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