Pennine Lancashire celebrates Patient Participation Groups

NHS Blackburn with Darwen and NHS East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are supporting National Patient Participation Week, which runs from June 19-24 2017.

The aim of the awareness week is to promote patient participation groups and the valuable work they undertake. The week is organised by the National Association for Patient Participation (NAPP), a national charity, formed in 1978.

Working in partnership with GPs and practice teams, patient participation groups ensure the patients perspective is at the heart of local NHS services. This helps to keep the services focused on the needs of the patient, continuously improving quality.

The groups also provide practical support in the surgery, improve communication between the practice and its patients, act as a critical friend to the Practice and help patients to take more responsibility for their own health.  Many practices are now offering services online for example booking appointments, ordering repeat prescriptions or patients being able to view their own health records.  For insight into how the GP online services are working and to look at this from a patients view, see our featured video.

Patient Participation Week aims to highlight the importance of patient participation to achieve excellence in care for all patients. During the week, patient participation groups across the UK will be holding a wide range of events to increase public and professional awareness, including working with local media organisations to highlight success in patient participation. In East Lancashire, engagement events are taking place in Pendle at Colne Health Centre and in Rossendale at Rossendale Valley Medical Practice.

Mr Jeremy Stanford, Chair of a Patient Participation Group from East Lancashire (CCG) said:

“Patient Participation Week is a great opportunity to educate local residents on the valuable work patient participation groups undertake and the changes they make to the benefit of patients and services.”

Michelle Pilling – Lay Member Patient and Public Involvement, and Deputy Chair at East Lancashire CCG said:

“This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in supporting their GP practice by joining their patient participation group and finding out more about how they can help make a difference.

“If anyone wants to become a member of a patient participation group at their local GP practice, they should contact their practice directly.”

A national media campaign, with contributions from leading health stakeholders, will highlight the value of these ‘grass root’ groups and the important role they play in driving up the quality of care.

The week will come to an end at the NAPP annual national conference in Hampshire on June 24, this year entitled ‘Patients, Partnerships and Power’.

For more information about patient participation, visit the NAPP website.