Somerset GPs encouraging patient involvement (From Bridgwater Mercury)

Somerset GPs encouraging patient involvement

1:00pm Sunday 12th July 2009

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SOMERSET GPs are leading the way in obtaining feedback from patients on how to improve their services and quality of care.

NHS Somerset is one of 11 primary care trusts in England signed up to a national scheme, Making the Most of Patient Participation Groups, working to establish patient participation groups in GP surgeries.

It is hoped that such groups will eventually become associated with many more primary care services, such as dentists, pharmacists and opticians.

The pilot scheme is exploring how primary care trusts like NHS Somerset can best work to give patients and the public a greater voice in the development and delivery of local health services.

At a patient and public involvement event at Lyngford House Conference Centre, in Taunton, members of Patient Participation Groups from across Somerset met with GPs, practice managers and NHS Somerset executives to discuss how to expand such groups into many more of Somerset’s 75 GP practices.

Guest of honour was Graham Box, chief executive of the National Association of Patient Participation.

He said: “I’m so delighted that NHS Somerset has joined us and is helping patients groups influence the health service decision-making processes.

“Business models have shown that most organisations might get about 70% customer satisfaction, but until they talk with their customers, act on their views and involve them in their plans they can won’t achieve the outcome they hope. “In Somerset, the population is set to expand rapidly - an extra 100,000 people over next 20 years - and it is these older patients, many of whom will have long term health conditions, that will be the high users of health services and we must ensure that their views shape future health services.”

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