Growing Patient Participation campaign announces fund winners
Over £30,000 awarded to Patient Participation Groups for patient-led initiatives
Forty Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) from across the country have been awarded a share of the ‘Making a Difference’ fund with funds totalling well over £30,000.
The Making a Difference fund, launched in August 2009 as part of the Growing Patient Participation Campaign, offered PPGs the chance to bid for up to £4,000 of the funding made available by the Department of Health. The fund was awarded in two rounds, the first in December 2009 and the second in February 2010. Bids ranged from £250, to run an education evening for example, to the full £4,000, to run road shows in villages across a local area. Sadly, this is not an annual event.
The successful PPGs were selected from over 170 applications to the fund, which was launched to support new patient-led initiatives, or the continuation of valuable existing activities. Entries were judged on their ability to demonstrate a real response to local patients’ needs, and the potential to have a measurable impact on the health and wellbeing of the local population. Applications were diverse, ranging from proposals to deliver health promotion events, to schemes to improve access to practice services. Among the successful entries were:
- The Frome Patient Participation Group in Somerset, to fund a men’s health promotion event at the local rugby club;
- The Staunton & Corse PPG in Gloucester, to fund emergency first aid training for community and resident groups; and
- The Charles Hicks & Roman Gate PPG in Cambridgeshire, to set up an information and support network for carers.
Dr Graham Box, Chief Executive of NAPP and member of the judging panel said: "We were delighted with the number and quality of applications that were received. They demonstrated a real desire to make improvements for the benefit of the local population. While the judging process was extremely difficult, these winners were selected for initiatives that we believe will make a real difference to their local communities. With some applicants requesting as little as £250, it just goes to show that PPGs can make a little go an awfully long way.”
Mike Dixon, Chair of the NHS Alliance, said: “We are delighted the the campaign has been able to make this award, which will help fund valuable activities to improve local health services. More than that, we hope it will encourage other practices and patients to work together to set up their own PPGs, so more people can benefit from excellent local initiatives such as the ones being recognised today.”
Congratulations to all winners! Click here to view the full list.