Meeting Minutes

Latest Meeting Minutes

Introduction and Welcome

Sheila welcomed everybody to the meeting.  

Minutes of Last Meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed.

Matters Arising

PPG Leaflet update/Revision ongoing - Sheila will have another look at this with the support of Nic and a QR code.

No awards were taken home from the GP Practice Awards Ceremony in December, but the practice was very proud to be nominated for GP Practice of the Year together with Dr Helen Kingston for GP of the year.

Practice Update

New Lead Practice Nurse, Kathryn Dalby-Welsh started on the 19th February.

Two new GPs have joined the practice, Dr Ian Welch (previously a GP registrar with the practice) and Dr Charlotte Squire.  Dr Zach Dutoit (currently a GP registrar at the practice) will be joining the practice later in the year. 

The practice has been nominated for HSJ Reducing Health Inequalities through Digital award in May. 

Regular Gynaecology MDTs with the RUH have started and Respiratory MDTs are starting in March.  These are initially looking at patients on the RUH waiting list and are also an opportunity for GPs to bring new patient cases to for advice.  There are plans to start with further specialities including Cardiology and ENT

Heart Failure Focus Group

Due to a commissioning gap in Somerset, on a trial basis the RUH are providing a Heart Failure Nurse to work with both the Frome and Mendip PCNs.  She will be seeing new HF patients and running regular MDTs with a particular focus on Housebound patients.

The practice will also apply for a one-off funding stream from The British Heart Foundation and Karen has asked the PPG to contribute to the focus group for the funding bid.

Participating in Hydration project

The practice has applied for funding held by the GPSU to take part in this project that will look at patients >60 years old, who will complete a questionnaire and then be given a water bottle and an 8 week drinking diary.  At the end of the 8 weeks they will complete a further questionnaire to look at what improvements to their health improving hydration has had.

Kindness Festival

The festival will run in Frome from 14th – 21st March.  Frome Medical Practice will be participating by asking patients to “Imagine more kindness in the practice”.  The PPG has been asked to support this event asking patients specific questions relating to this. ACTION - Tonya to send questions to PPG

PPG content on website

Nicola raised that the ‘Sign up to the PPG’ form is asking too many questions.  This will be looked at during the practice Comms meeting this week.  

AOB

Jenny has decided to resign from the PPG and Simon is moving out of the area.  Both have supported the PPG for many years since its initial meetings many years ago at Park Road and will be sadly missed.