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PPG Minutes
Wed 15th October 2025 - 6pm: Padiham Town Hall
Present:
- Peter Frazer: PPG Chair
- Joanne Howard: Practice Manager
- Dr Narayana: Practice Partner
- Bilkis Peters: Secretary
- Patients: 9
Introduction and Welcome
Peter Frazer welcomed everyone.
PPG Agenda Items/Minutes
Minutes From Last Meeting
Jo Howard informed the meeting that the practice has recruited an Advance Clinical Practitioner in August. She also advised that a GP has not been recruited as there were no suitable candidates
A question was raised regarding the future of the treatment room on Station Road; Jo advised that East Lancashire Health Trust (ELHT) has made the decision to close it. If anyone has concerns they need to raise them with the Integrated Care Board. The practice was not informed of this decision until 3 weeks before it was closed.
PPG Rules
Jo Howard reminded the attendees of the rules regarding PPG meetings and that the PPG meeting was not the forum to raise individual queries. She advised that any personal issues relating to the practice should be directed to her and she would deal with any them appropriately
Practice Manager Updates
Jo advised the meeting that the new Total Triage System became operational on Monday 13th October. As expected it has been very busy and labour intensive, with phone lines busier than usual but the expectation is that the situation should settle down after a few weeks, hopefully show improvements in patients’ expectations with availability of appointments.
The Total Triage System is planned to be incorporated in to the NHS app. It is not working at present but the surgery has been advised it should be ready within the next week. Jo explained that using the system via the practice website was the most efficient method to get an appointment with the appropriate GP or practitioner. The booking form is on the website along with a banner guiding patients to information about the system. Patients are being helped to navigate it when requested to do so. Doctors are triaging the requests in the morning and in the afternoon; however there are only a finite amount of appointments available.
Jo advised that a meeting was held in the practice for staff to discuss the system highlighting any issues and possible solutions. Following concerns expressed by some patients, Jo is considering using a meeting room in the town hall to demonstrate how to use the triage system. She is also considering the possibility of uploading a tutorial on to the practice website and sending a link to patients.
The meeting was informed that the practice telephones will be open until 6.30pm as usual. It was also stressed the importance of getting the message out to patients that it is to their benefit to fill in form in the long term. Jo will be looking to get feedback regarding the triage system to inform future improvements.
Time and Date of Next Meeting
The time of future meetings was discussed regarding date and time including which day of the week meetings could be held. After some discussion the meeting was reminded that it was previously suggested that alternating the time between 1 pm during Winter and Spring and 6 pm during Summer and Autumn would be appropriate and this was agreed and acted upon.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 4th February 2025 at 1pm.
The Meeting closed at 6.35pm.