Latest PPG Minutes

 

Minutes of Meeting: 3rd February 2026

Attendees

  • Peter Woolliscroft (Chair)
  • Nick Manns (Secretary)
  • Peter Key (Treasurer and PPG Member)
  • Dave Bennett (PPG member)
  • Oonagh Bryant (PPG member)
  • Violet Connellan (PPG member)
  • Hugh Macdonald (PPG member)
  • Tony Morgan (PPG member)
  • Valerie Peel (PPG member)
  • Margaret Woodcock (PPG member)
  • Alice Grant (Practice manager)
  • Natalie Harrison (Management support)
  • Dr Rohit Singh (Practice partner)

1 Welcome and introductions

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. He said that Pauline Brand had resigned as co-secretary of the group, although she would remain as Deputy Chair. Peter Woolliscroft (PW) said that Nick Manns (NM) would act as secretary. PW invited volunteers for the role of secretary. Although there were no immediate aspirants for the task, the vacancy would remain open. PW stressed that minutes needn’t be excessively detailed and Alice Grant (AG) noted that AI technology could be introduced to ease the secretarial burden.

2 Apologies

Apologies were received from Pauline Brand (Deputy Chair).

3 Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the meeting (held on 9 December 2025) were accepted as a true record.

4 Matters arising

Note: Dr Rohit Singh (RS) joined the meeting at an early stage and consequently commented on some of the Matters Arising points. He also discussed four questions that had been submitted to him by the PPG prior to the meeting. A print-out of the questions was shared with the PPG.

Anima update

Members of the PPG had been concerned about the protocol for obtaining an appointment using Anima. Both Violet Connellan (VC) and Margaret Woodcock (MW) thought that ‘everything had to go through Anima’. RS explained that Anima had been designed for non-urgent patient use (and so reduce the pressure on reception staff). However, it was being used as the standard gateway to obtain an appointment, irrespective of urgency. Practice staff had to monitor enquiries during the day.

RS emphasised that GPs were under enormous pressure and that patient expectations were very high. The Practice experienced a high number of DNAs (Did Not Attend appointments). RS circulated a patient information sheet (GP Funding) that explained the cost of practice care.

PW felt that the surgery should provide a route map for accessing services. Ordinary people were unsure of what to do. Tony Morgan (TM) noted that the public was susceptible to scare stories in the press. AG said many patients were unaware that NHS Pharmacy First could offer advice to the public.

GP contract RS said the contract was still under negotiation: details were not publicly known.

Measles outbreak

RS said that 91% of the children eligible for the MMRV vaccine (MMR + chickenpox) on the Headlands patients’ list had been vaccinated. There had been an uplift since January and the practice was working towards 96% (the ‘gold standard’).

Leaflet accompanying medicine RS said that patients should read the information provided with any medicine. They should be encouraged to ‘filter’ symptoms. He noted that rather than concluding that their sickness and diarrhoea might be a medicine related side-effect, they might reflect that it could have been caused by a recent visit to a restaurant. Dave Bennett observed that leaflets accompanying medicines used (very) small print (and were hard to read).

Appointment times RS said that the absence of a functioning display unit in the waiting room wasn’t shortening appointment times. He said: ‘I give the patient as much time as they need’ and said that the short walk wasn’t affecting service. The Headlands was currently offering 15 minutes face-to-face.

Action AG would create a flowchart for accessing services.

5 Report from the chairs of the Lakeside PPGs

PW said that the chairs of the other PPGs were ambivalent about the leaflet (How to help your doctor help you). The secretary of the St Neots PPG had emailed NM saying their group felt the information was common sense and wouldn’t add to the patient experience in their practice.  

PW said that one PPG was holding consideration funds. Peter Key (PK) noted ‘we are an unincorporated association. Funds shouldn’t be held by the Practice. We’re not a charity (funds are less than £5,000). As we complete the legal paperwork, our situation is OK.’

PW noted that some PPGs have community bank accounts but acknowledged there was a cost to that.

6 Spring Open Day

There was discussion about the purpose of the day; the venue and the date. AG felt that the purpose of the Open Day was to ‘bridge the gap’ between patients and staff. She felt the focus should be on services available (and promotional material would need to be prepared). The purpose of the day wasn’t to ‘drum up new business’.

Topics might include:

  • How things work at the practice
  • Anima
  • A history of the building

AG said that a problem with other venues (outside the Headlands) was the need to take out public liability insurance (and this would add to the cost). AG said the surgery would use three floors for the event.

AG also noted health and safety. If too many people appeared, they couldn’t all be accommodated safely. She would update the website publicising the Open Day (and send out text messages).

 It was agreed the Open Day would take place on Saturday 13 June 2026.

Action Practice and PPG to agree details for the Open Day.

7 Postcards project and the noticeboard

AG said that Natalie Harrison (NH) would be taking over responsibility for the noticeboard. She had worked in schools and so had experience of display boards. VC would continue to be the PPG contact.

VC felt there was too much information on the noticeboard and that the font size was too small for comfortable reading.

Regarding the postcards, NH distributed copies of images of the Headlands and members of the PPG signalled their approval of a favoured image. NH suggested the postcards would contain information regarding services offered and relevant contact details.

Action Practice to produce draft postcard.

8 Treasurer’s report

PK said the target for the preferred blood pressure machine was approximately £900. The PPG had so far raised about £400. AG said the PPG should aim for 75% of the cost (and the Headlands would pay for the remainder). The target figure would be (approximately) £675.

PK said the current store of donated books should be moved from the waiting room back to reception (with an adjacent notice explaining how much people should pay for each purchase). He felt the Open Day would be an obvious opportunity to sell books.

Action Practice to move donated books to reception (with accompanying notice).

9 Future focus

TM said that 10% of the population had hypertension and blood pressure testing in the Newlands might be practical (and useful promotion for the Practice). AG said the problem was the need for public liability insurance. She felt that patient education was key. We could link our efforts to national campaigns (AG cited Men’s Health and Breast Cancer awareness).

PW said we could have a table in the Newlands offering promotional material. We should work with other PPGs.

Action Further discussion of future activities.

10 Any other business

Pauline Brand (PB) had emailed NM about urgent GP blood tests. He circulated information (from the NHS website) about the walk-in facilities at KGH, Nene Park (Irthlingborough) and the Nuffield Diagnostic Centre in Corby.

AG said that Practice would supervise a PPG promotional photograph at the next meeting. Action Practice to organise PPG photograph.

11  Date of the Next Meeting

Date and time of next meeting Tuesday 31st March 2026 at 11.00.