Join your local Patient Participation Group
Join your local Patient Participation Group and help the NHS shape services for your community
Are you interested in influencing how your GP practice works and about the health services it delivers? Your practice patient participation group (PPG) could be for you.
A PPG is a group of patients, carers and GP practice staff who meet to discuss practice issues and patient experience to help improve the service.
PPGs work in partnership with their GP practice and are vital in ensuring that the patient voice is heard. PPGs have an increasingly important role to play in helping to give patients a say in the way services are delivered to best meet their needs, and the needs of the local community.
By becoming a member of your local PPG you will be helping to support your local NHS services and community by being a critical friend to your practice and you could be:
- Helping them communicate to patients how recent changes to the NHS will affect services provided
- Advising the practice on the patient perspective
- Involved in organising health promotion events
- Helping the practice decide on overall service priorities
- Helping to carry out research into the views of service users and carers
Northumberland has 40 member practices across the county, some with established PPGs delivering their own community health improvement initiatives such as book clubs, walking groups and knit and natter groups and asking patients and carers their views on using services through surveys and meetings. Groups work in different ways; some meet in person, others communicate with their practice online – all are keen to welcome and involve new members.
If you are interested in joining your local PPG, please contact your GP Practice Manager or NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group, Communications and Engagement Team by emailing: lesley.tweddell@nhs.net who will help advise you about your nearest PPG.
