April 23, 2025
Agenda
FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY PRACTICE
Meeting on 23 April 2025 at St Johns Health Centre
0900 – 1030 hrs
AGENDA
1 Apologies for Absence
2. Minutes of Meeting held on 29 January 2025
3. Matters arising (not covered by a specific agenda item)
a) Item 4.
Conversion of room for clinical and consultation use.
4. Health Centre Update.
a) Details of any operational or procedural changes.
b) Information in relation to any staff changes/vacancies.
5. Future Projects
Any developments on suggestions contained in discussions outlined under Item 5 of the minutes of the previous meeting?
6. Any Other Business.
7. Date/time of next meeting
Mike Rudd (Chair)
Minutes
FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY PRACTICE
Minutes of meeting on 23 April 2025
Present: Graham Cundy, Jane Daborn, Hilary Gower, Malcolm Jefferies, Lynn McGrady (Sec), Sandra Shaw, Nicky Yates, Jill Keen (Practice Manager)
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Mike Rudd (Chair) and Dr Sekhon. Graham Cundy chaired the meeting in Mike’s absence.
2. Minutes of the last meeting held on 29 January 2025
The minutes were agreed.
3. Matters arising
Jill confirmed that only limited progress had so far been made in bringing into clinical use a large room previously used to store paper records. A bid for funding from a trust supporting the digitising of health records had not been successful as the premises are owned by the NHS and not in private ownership. The room is intended to be available for the medical students arriving during the summer so work will soon continue to complete it.
4. Health Centre Update
a) Operational or Procedural Changes
Use of the NHS app is still the method of contact preferred by the Practice as it enables staff and GPs to triage issues swiftly and offer the most effective first stage of support. However, it was acknowledged that the NHS app is not particularly easy to use – for patients and staff in the Practice.
b) Staff Changes / Vacancies
The Practice currently has no vacancies at the GP or administrative levels. As in previous years, there is currently a junior doctor (ST2 level) training within the Practice and supporting the GPs.
5. Future Projects
At the last meeting Mike asked that members consider whether there were any specific issues which might warrant further consideration by this group. Previous projects had included challenging local ambulance attendance times and seeking bus services or more local provision for clinical specialties transferred from St Peter’s Hospital to Ashford.
The group undertake periodic surveys of all patients attending the surgery and consideration had been given to seeking the views of those not having face-to-face appointments. Opportunities for the group to contact over 11,500 patients in the Practice are hindered by practical issues, data protection concerns and the availability of resources in the Practice to analyse results. As patients receiving a service are already contacted via the Friends & Family text messages it was decided to park the issue of extending the group’s surveys until a later date.
There was a concern that patients might not be aware of the group and are therefore missing the opportunity to feed issues into group discussions. The group has a noticeboard within the waiting room but it was suggested that other communication methods might be helpful. A brief Google search through the minutes of other Patient Participation Groups (PPG) had noted for example, that a periodic newsletter was used by some groups and in one instance a training session was run to assist patients in using the NHS app – although this was not well attended. Subject to having the time available prior to the next meeting, Nicky agreed to co-ordinate any suggestions from group members regarding how to communicate to patients – particularly those not attending the surgery. Malcolm agreed to contact a small number of other surgeries to understand their approaches to communicating with patients and any activities they undertake.
6. Any Other Business
a) Social Prescribing: This is an approach that connects patients to activities, groups and services in the community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing rather than solely relying on medical interventions. Referrals used to be undertaken by GPs who made referrals to the Primary Care Network. However, following recent funding changes Woking Borough Council have now introduced a self-referral form which is available on the Woking BC website whereby eligible residents can access appointments with a wellbeing adviser who will organise suitable assistance.
b) Health Hubs: Jill was asked if there had been any progress on the Government’s plans to enable GPs to send patients for diagnostic testing without awaiting a consultant’s appointment. Jill had received no further information on this issue but suspected it was linked to funding reductions at the Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) which fund NHS hospitals. GPs are currently required to undertake some tests prior to referrals to consultants - often including blood tests, ECGs etc.
c) Suggestion box: The Practice has a suggestion box which not widely used but any suggestions are actively considered by staff.
7. Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for 9am on Wednesday 23 July 2025.
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