Daybrook Patient Participation Group
Sheila Rodgers, member of Daybrook PPG in Nottingham, talks about organising health promotion days for patients on issues ranging from smoking to obesity.
Sheila was one of the founding members of the Daybrook Health Clinic PPG in Nottingham. The PPG was established in September 2008, when the Assistant Practice Manager wrote to patients asking for volunteers to get involved. Sheila, who was newly retired at the time, thought that joining the group would enable her to keep active and help her remain plugged in to her local community.
The group comprises a core membership of a dozen regular contributors, some of whom are in a similar position to Sheila, some have young families and one is a new mum. The group met every month for the first three months and now plans to meet every quarter, as the group is fully established and up and running. Their primary goal is to act as a voice for the patient population in discussions with the practice, and to help the practice in communicating with patients.
So far, the group, working closely with the practice staff, has organised a health promotion day to raise awareness of ways to tackle obesity, the harms associated with smoking and the importance of more efficient medicine management as a means of reducing waste. The group used the day as an opportunity to host a Marie Curie tea party to raise money for the charity, and as a chance to speak to patients about the purpose of the PPG. They received a very warm reception from those they spoke to.
For its next project, the group is considering supporting the practice’s winter flu jab clinic by offering tea and coffee to patients while they are waiting to be seen.