Mansfield Medical Centre Patient Panel, Coventry
Sue Line, Chair of the Mansfield Medical Centre Patient Panel talks about giving the surgery a facelift and delivering self care courses for all.
Getting started
The Mansfield Medical Centre Patient Panel was set up as part of a pilot scheme run by the then Coventry Health Authority and has now been running for over 10 years. Sue Line, who has been a patient at the surgery for 60 years, became a member of the Patient Panel about eight years ago and is currently Chair of the group.
The practice environment
When the group was set up, the focus was initially on making improvements to the surgery environment. This included holding a number of fundraising events in order to pay for changes to the lighting and décor in the waiting room. A patient questionnaire also showed that patients were unhappy with the seating at the practice, so money was secured from the PCT to pay for new, more comfortable seats, and the group raised the funds to jointly purchase an adjustable couch.
The group has also recently revamped the children’s corner of the waiting room, including a bookshelf for children’s books and toys, which has received good feedback from patients. A book sale run in the waiting room has also raised enough money to fund a water fountain.
Sue said: “We felt it was important to get the atmosphere in the practice right first, as our patient surveys showed that this was important. Now that we have spent time on this we’re keen to focus on wider health improvements based on the needs of patients in the community. Our Self Care for You courses have proved an important part of this, and we’re keen to develop them further over the coming months.”
Health education
Following a £3,000 grant provided by the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Patient Panel developed a project to run “Self Care for You” courses for patients. The grant went towards training three members of the Patient Panel to run four courses, each lasting six weeks. The courses covered health and wellbeing subjects including eating, exercise, combating stress, and the aim was to help patients to better manage their own lifestyles. The courses were designed to enhance the health information already available at the surgery for patients.
The courses were promoted in local chemists, the surgery and through information slips inserted in repeat prescriptions. They have proved popular with patients, and the Patient Panel is now keen to cater for specific patients groups through training someone to deliver the courses in Polish, and offering courses to cover health issues such as diabetes, arthritis and COPD.
Making use of technology
Following feedback from the patient survey about check-in times, the group helped with the acquisition of a new touch screen system, to allow patients to check themselves in quickly and efficiently.
The group is also working on launching a website for the practice and the Patient Panel – thanks to the design skills of one of their newest members. A TV screens is used in the waiting room to communicate relevant messages from the practice to patients, including those designed by the Patient Panel and items from HealthLink (an independent, not for profit social enterprise exploring new ways to improve health and health services, through patient and public involvement) that provides health information to patients.