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| 2012 |
Executive Committee Members: Patricia Daniels (PD), Doris Hall (DoH), David Harper (DaH), Chris Stannard (CS), L.M. Stockman (LMS)
Emilio Ceraudo (EC), Joyce Jarvis (JJ) and Terri Pope (TP) were absent with apologies.
Surgery Representatives: Dr Gysbert Fourie (DrGF), Jenny Moyes (JM)
Guests: Alan and Alison Baker (AB)
The minutes from the meeting of 30 May 2012 were approved. PD was acting chairman.
Action: CS proposed that the Committee send an email of thanks to John Jarvis for taking the minutes last month in the absence of the Secretary.
Action: Due to staffing changes at the Surgery over the next few months, it was decided to postpone planning on the next event.
It was agreed at the last meeting that the Surgery and the PPG should have a stall at the village fête next month. JM reported that Fiona McGlashan (FM) had booked and paid for a pitch, and that most of the logistics, including several fund raising activities (name the teddy bear, guess how many jelly beans are in a jar, etc.) in aid of a health-related charity yet to be determined, were well in hand. The Surgery staff rota is nearly complete but Committee members also need to attend.
Action: CS will see if he can borrow a sturdy table from the village hall. PD will bring Health Walk leaflets and suggested that FM bring the Forever Active leaflets from the Surgery. LMS will send up-to-date PPG leaflets and posters to FM and JM to be printed.
Action: CS will cover the 12-1 slot, PD the 1-2 slot and DaH the 2-3 slot. Volunteers are still needed for 3-4 and 4-5.
Action: JM will contact the representative from the Primary Care Research Network to see when it is convenient for her to attend. Since the July meeting is only three weeks away, it will probably have to be August or September.
CS told the Committee that several months ago, the Bar Hill Social Club held a Quiz Night to raise money for meningitis research. By the end of the evening, several hundred pounds had been raised. They are thinking of holding another such event, perhaps in November to take advantage of a Barclays Bank matching funds scheme, in aid of a different medical charity. CS suggested that the Committee members might like to field one or more teams.
Action: Deferred until July.
This topic has appeared on the agenda off and on since the inception of the Group. JM met one of the volunteers who set up a community transport scheme in neighbouring villages. It fulfils both social and medical needs. LMS asked how often patients were in need of such special transport services and JM said very rarely now that the PPG leaflet Getting to Hospital by Bus is available. CS mentioned that the church offers an informal transport service, as do other organisations in the village. It was agreed that there seemed to be little medical need for such a service and perhaps it should be brought before the parish council.
Action: Deferred until July when it will be put to a vote whether to retire this issue.
DrGF spoke to the Committee about the current contract for the maple surgery. The original 18-month contract was extended by the primary care trust to a full three years after major improvements were made by the team. According to the PCT, due to NHS procurement law, no further extensions are possible and the contract has to go out to tender. maple surgery expect to be able to bid for this five-year contract. The surgery team are disappointed but are keen to provide continuity for patients and staff and therefore want to take on the contract for the long term.
This uncertainty in the length of the maple surgery contract is a major problem in attracting and retaining GPs. Both Dr Emma Tiffen and Dr Sripat Pai are on contract as locums. Unfortunately for the maple surgery, Dr Tiffen has found a permanent position elsewhere and will be leaving at the beginning of August. Dr Pai's situation is similarly tenuous as he is also looking for a permanent position.
The Committee was alarmed to hear this news and PD said that the patients must be told the exact reasons for Dr Tiffen's departure, otherwise they may think that it has something do with the quality of service rather than arcane government regulations. DrGF agreed. He said that in the first 18 months, the maple surgery had difficulty in getting anyone to apply because of the poor reputation that Bar Hill had. Now, with only ten months to run on the three-year contract, government/PCT rules mean that the Surgery cannot hire anyone for more than that period. Not surprisingly, most GP applicants are looking for something longer-term. However, the maple surgery is still trying to obtain a more permanent situation, perhaps in collaboration with the Acorn Surgery in Huntingdon.
In summary, the tender process will begin shortly and a decision made by the end of the year as to who will provide GP services from the maple surgery from next April. Themaple surgery has made a lot of improvements in two and a half years, many of which perhaps are not obvious to the patients, but the inability to offer long-term or permanent positions to GPs continues to be a major problem.
Action: The Surgery will submit an article for the August edition of the Bar Hill News explaining the situation. Also, DaH will draft a letter to be sent to the PCT and local members of Parliament outlining the problems facing the surgery under current government guidelines, highlighting the patient viewpoint and emphasizing the threat to patient trust, safety and continuity of treatment.
JM then brought up an article in The Sun newspaper earlier in the month which named the maple surgery as the third worst surgery in the country! Apparently the paper made this claim based on one question about opening hours in a recent GP-patient survey in which there were only 60 respondents. The Surgery now offers extended hours once a week, usually early on Tuesday mornings, although this may change to a different day when Dr Tiffen leaves. However, it simply isn't possible to offer both early and late appointments because the service level agreement for extended hours identifies the number of hours to be delivered according to the surgery list size and this equates to one hour per week for the maple surgery. CS wondered if someone should talk to a health correspondent at the Cambridge News in an effort to counter the earlier story in The Sun, but PD was wary of involving the media.
JM also reported that the new computer system was up and running. Although the staff are still getting used to it, the new system seems to be working well. If patients want to give their mobile phone numbers to the Surgery, the Surgery can text patients with updates and appointment reminders. It is not yet possible to make appointments online (that is coming in the autumn) but checking in is now an automated process. DrGF also said that from late July, the out-of-hours service would be able to access patient records. DaH wondered who had paid for all the software; it would be unfortunate if the maple surgery footed the bill, only to lose the contract six months later. DrGF said that the PCT paid for the software and the Surgery paid for the licence to use it.
Action: This issue will be up for further discussion at the July meeting. In the meantime, DaH will put together an article to go in the Bar Hill News and letters to be sent to local MPs. CS suggested that the local councillor holding the health portfolio should also be involved. DaH said he would look into that.
PD welcomed guests AB. As patients of the Surgery, they were urged by their GP to contact the Committee to discuss the idea of setting up support groups for patients with chronic or long-term illnesses. A 'moan and groan' group was not the idea, nor was setting something up to provide medical advice since many such organisations already exist. Rather, the support group would be an informal body, more for socialising and providing human contact. Many people with chronic illnesses don't necessarily look unwell but because they may be less able, they can become insulated and cut off from their local community. This is particularly true for people who are new to the area, don't have children, don't have a dog to walk, etc.
PD recommended the local library group and JM said she enjoyed belonging to the Women's Institute in her village. (Unfortunately, Bar Hill does not have a WI chapter.) LMS asked if there was a master list of activities going on in the village. JM said there was one in her village but it was thought that such a list didn't exist in Bar Hill.
AB said many of these activities were out of reach of many people afflicted with debilitating illnesses. Either they were in another village, making transport an issue, or were held too late in the evening, or were simply too physically demanding. Sometimes just being sociable can be exhausting. It would be nice to have a group of people who understood about the 'bad days' and to whom you didn't have to explain or make excuses. It would also be an opportunity to give and receive advice on coping strategies.
JM said that there was information about assistance for carers in the Surgery and in many instances this included help for the patient with the illness. Also, there are any number of healthy people who can empathise with those in ill-health and may welcome a chance to socialise with them.
The difficulty is setting up a group in the first place. Once it gets going, AB believe it would be self-sustaining. JM urged caution about simply placing an ad or letter in the Bar Hill News since it would be impossible to vet an people expressing an interest.
In short, AB would like to see the establishment of a support group for sufferers of long-term illnesses and their carers, where people can meet occasionally and/or at times of need, for a chat, a coffee and mutual support. Some things cannot be fixed by medicine alone, but socialising with others that are in a similar position can help the relieve feelings of isolation and frustration.
Action: PD recommended that the Committee give the matter further thought and discuss it again at the July meeting. The Committee thanked AB for coming to the meeting and offering their input, and welcomed them to attend any and all future meetings.
Action: DoH will act as Chairman for the July meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
The next meeting of the Executive Committee of the PPG will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 July 2012, in the Octagon. Tea and coffee will be served before the meeting, from 6:00 p.m.
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