Healthwatch Rochdale publish their findings on PPGS
The first deep dive into PPG’s was completed in September 2022 when work was carried out after Healthwatch Rochdale after receiving feedback from Rochdale borough residents that their GP practice did not have an active PPG.
The findings from 2022 showed that:
- 28% of GP practices have an active PPG
- 28% said they were due to restart their PPG
- 44% do not have an active PPG
Further findings from the 2024 PPG research showed:
- There are still PPG’s not set up in the borough.
- 95% of practices had a dedicated PPG page on their website.
- 28% of practices were difficult to get through to by telephone or email.
- Reception staff were not aware of what a PPG is and had limited information to share.
A PPG is a group of patients, carers and GP practice staff who meet to discuss practice issues and patient experience to help improve the service.
Since April 2015, it has been a contractual requirement of NHS England for all GP practices to have a PPG and to make reasonable efforts for this to be representative of the practice population.
Healthwatch Rochdale have set up a programme of work to help support practices that do not have a PPG currently or that are struggling to manage them. Healthwatch Rochdale will work closely with the Primary Care commissioners in Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale to ensure that all PPG are re-established for April 2025.
PPGs give patients the opportunity to meet with staff to discuss practice issues and use patient experience to improve service. With the changes that are currently taking place within Primary Care we recognise that PPGs are one of the best ways to get people involved and have a say when decisions are being made that affect their healthcare. We welcome the response we have received from our findings and look forward to seeing all PPGs reinstated by April 2025.
Downloads
You can read the full report by downloading the report below.