Notes & Action Points

• Present: Beverley (Chair), Faraz Ali, Andrew Sarek
• Apologies: Adili (Vice-Chair)

GP Patient Survey

AS presented the results of the 2024 GP Patient Survey. The survey is run nationally every year with questionnaires sent between January and March, and results published in August. The results for Halfpenny Steps are generally well above the local and national averages, and they compare well with two of the nearest practices.

Staff Security

The practice is getting quotes for better security around the two reception desks. This has become a higher priority following the recent acid attack in Harrow Road.

NHS App

AS recently had to man reception and answer calls, and he was surprised at the number of patients calling to request repeat medication—25% to 35% of calls. He suggested that many of these callers could have used the NHS App, saving themselves time and freeing up reception/admin time to get on with other things. Beverley agreed and said that although she was sceptical to start with, she now uses the app as much as she can.

We discussed ways to get more patients using the app, including engaging patients in reception and encouraging them to speak with dedicated staff and volunteers who would be able to help them download and set up the app on their smartphones. FA said that the PCN (Primary Care Network of seven local practices) has talked about creating ‘Digital Champions’, which we may be able to take advantage of.

There is a website called Patient Online Management Information (POMI) produced by NHS Digital where practices can see how many of their patients are able to use online services. Figures for Halfpenny Steps show that 78% of our 8000 patients are able to use online services, including making or cancelling an appointment, ordering a repeat prescription, and viewing their detailed record.

However, figures also show that during August 2024, online repeat prescription ordering was used just 282 times, an average of fewer than 10 times per day. AS said he would try to establish what was the total of repeat prescriptions ordered by any method that month.

Phone Menu

AS suggested that having a menu when patients call the surgery could help with call management. FA and Beverley were not so sure. So this will be discussed further.

Next PPG Meeting

It was agreed that the next PPG meeting would be on Friday 25 October at 16:30. All patients will be sent a text asking if they would like to join the PPG, and those that say that they would will be invited to the meeting. FA would contact all patients to see if anyone would like to join the PPG, and then invite those interested to the meeting.

Next PPG Management Meeting

Meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month at 10:30, so the next meeting is Thursday 14 November.