Attendees:

TLCP: Dominika Silva (Operations Manager and CQC Compliance Manager)
PPG Members: Flavia Gasbarri, Laurene Brooks, Penelope Caudell

1. Welcome and Introductions

Dominika welcomed everyone to the first Belmont Hill PPG meeting following the practice merger in early 2022.

2. TLCP Updates

Belmont Hill Surgery merged with four other practices:

• Hilly Fields Medical Centre
• St Johns Medical Centre
• Honor Oak Practice
• Morden Hill Surgery

The Lewisham Care Partnership (TLCP) was created, this took place in 2017, but each site has been working on separate NHS England contracts, and as of Jan 2022, all sites were merging under one umbrella. The  2022 merger enabled one single super-practice database.

TLCP, with 55,000 patients, is one of the biggest super-practices in SE London. South East London Clinical Commissioning Group, now known as Integrated Case System (ICS), supported the merger. The site  names have changed accordingly, keeping the local identity of each site, e.g. TLCP @ Belmont Hill Surgery.

PPG Member:

What are the benefits of the merger at TLCP @ Belmont Hill Surgery?

Dominika:

• Improved access to a variety of specialised services (Mental Health Workers, Physiotherapy, Clinic Pharmacists, Physician Associates)
• Dedicated in-house pharmacist to improve medication outcomes and improve the speed of prescription processing for patients
• Clinicians are readily interchangeable between sites, and Belmont Hill Site benefited from having expanded its nursing team.
• Better coordination and delivery of long-term conditions services through refocused Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs)
• Efficiencies in back-office functions

There are also benefits to our staff:

• More excellent job and career opportunities
• More flexible work patterns
• Closer team working
• All staff are trained to the same high standards
• Reduction of unnecessary duplication
• A broader skill mix is available, enabling the development of new services and ways of working
• Sickness and holiday cover using the same staff team

PPG Member:

Why is my correspondence going to St John's rather than Belmont Hill?

Dominika:

This is because, at the point of the merger, one practice had to be chosen as the host/main site. At the time, St Johns Medical Centre was selected. The secondary or community sector does not recognise TLCP  sites and will automatically default letters or any correspondence to be mailed to St John's Medical Centre. Patients can be reassured that letters going to St John's are processed appropriately and promptly by the  central DOCMAN Team (DOCMAN - a third-party clinical software the practice uses to process clinical correspondence).

PPG Member:

I have had issues with my clinical letters, I have received them, but the practice didn't.

Dominika:

Happy to take this offline and discuss it directly with the PPG Member.

Other news:

It is with sadness that we announce the departure of Dr Dilesh Patel.

Dr Patel has been with the practice since 2019. He provided excellent patient care during his time with the practice, and we are very sad to lose him. He has been a fantastic team member and a very dedicated GP.

We wish him all the best and thank him for all he has done for our patients.

3. PPG Patient Newsletter/ New PPG Structure

Dominika:

Introduction of the proposed TLCP PPG Structure:

TLCP PPG will consist of Site Patient Forum Members and TLCP-wide PPG representatives, members drawn from the patient population at TLCP.

TLCP Site Patient Forums - each site within TLCP will host a quarterly Patient Forum - all groups will aim to establish and embed an effective relationship between TLCP sites and the patient population, objectively communicating patient experience, concerns, suggestions and comments. TLCP Site Patient Forums aim to represent all patients regardless of age, gender and ethnicity to provide accountable methods of input  and feedback from each TLCP site.

TLCP Site Patient Forum Members will be asked to select two representatives to attend TLCP PPG-wide meetings, which will be held every six months. TLCP PPG-wide meetings and members will contribute to  TLCP-wide decisions and facilitate the smooth operation of TLCP as ONE practice.

TLCP PPG Open Day (Annual General Meeting) - TLCP aims to hold an annual Open Day for TLCP Site Patient Forums and TLCP PPG-wide members; the annual general meeting will also be open to all patients of TLCP. The purpose of the annual general meeting is to present the activities and achievements of the Group and promote TLCP Site Patient Forums.

There were no questions regarding the proposed structure, and the members were happy. All TLCP PPG groups can review and provide feedback on the proposed structure.

We are hoping that the feedback will be available in the next meeting.

TLCP Patient Newsletter:

Dominika shared with the group the proposed TLCP Newsletter.

The group felt it was a fantastic idea and will provide further feedback on the structure of the newsletter.

4. Any Other Business (AOB)

Belmont Hill Site Patient Forum Representation

PPG Member:

We seem to have only women in our group, and it is only a few of us. How can we improve this?

Dominika:

The invitation to today's meeting has been shared with over 16 current members; unfortunately, only five confirmed attendance and only three attended. Although it is a low number, it was the first meeting, and we are hopeful that as time goes on, the number will grow.

We will be promoting the PPG via posters/website and leaflets.

We welcome ideas from the group on making our group more diverse and reflecting the site population.

As there were no other items to discuss, the meeting closed at 6:30pm.

5. Next Meeting

Proposed date of the next meeting:

14.06.2023 at 5:30pm

Confirmation to follow