Patient Voice Group

Our Patient Voice Group (PVG) meets to provide a forum for discussion about the practice.

Latest Meeting Minutes

• Date: Thursday 16th October 2025
• Location: York Bridge
• Chair: Cath McLennan (CM)/Chris Greenwood (CG)
• Minutes: Nerice Jones (NJ)

Introduction of new members

No new members attended the meeting this time. Cath introduced Nerice to the group as the new PA to the patient engagement team and as part of her role she will be attending the patient voice meetings to take the minutes.

An introduction from around the group for minute purposes.

Conflicts of interest

No conflicts noted at the meeting

Agree Minutes of the previous meeting (July 25) & review of actions (not otherwise on agenda)

Everyone agreed the minutes from the last meeting. It was also agreed that MR will have a paper copy of the meeting minutes posted.

Actions updated prior to the meeting:

• 03.04.25- UHMB Patient Experience Team – CM and CG have separately tried to make contact several time with no response. – Action complete as contact can not be obtained. - Action complete
• 24.07.25 – Automatic Check-in Devices – CM has updated these and information has been added to the screens – Action complete
• 24.07.25 – Re-design of Prescription Synchronisation form – CM has confirmed the sync form has been updated and the new on is live on the website. – Action complete
• 24.07.25 – NHS App Information – The prescription due reminder is on the road map for the NHS app but nothing can be done by BMG on this until the NHS app updates and makes changes to this – Action complete

Actions completed during the meeting

• 03.04.25 – Power of Attorney – To look at training on Power of Attorney for Health and Wellbeing – Completed during the meeting by VW(GP).- Action complete

A.O.B of actions

CM updated the group on an old action from last year in regards to linking in with Stanleys – CM is potentially going to be going to Stanleys on a weekly basis to work with the community group to improve digital skills and help people become confident with using this. Stanleys have been given a pot of money to look at improving digital access and enhancing inequalities within their group.

Following on from the discussion of Stanley’s CG updated the group on Stanleys building and explained this has been purchased for Stanleys so they now own the building protecting the future for the Stanleys group.

It was suggested that the PVG could go to Stanleys to see the work they are doing within the community as they offer foodbanks, networking, sanctuary, warmth and provide comfort for a lot of people.

“Meet the Patient Voice Group” open meeting

suggestion to plan a separate “open” meeting – with a fixed agenda about the roles of a Patient User Group, offer some light refreshments and allow others to discuss individually with members their thoughts on the group

This was originally discussed by PVG member PF at a previous PVG meeting to see if we could increase the numbers of the group and to get new and different opinions. PVG member LL thought this was a good idea but raised concerns that this needed to be an appropriate meeting and people joining needed to understand the reasons for the meeting, this was agreed by all and it was highlighted that this is a controlled meeting and it is not a place to come to share one off negative experiences. CM agreed this was a concern when an open group was originally requested as although BMG do want to support and deal with complaints the PV meeting isn’t the appropriate place to do this.

A point raised by PVG member BB was that previously it was asked if the PVG would attend a surgery and have conversations with patients about the group and what they do, BB said he previously volunteered to do this and would be happy to do this hopefully increasing awareness of the PVG.

Everyone was in agreement that it would be good to diversify the group, and this would link in with a discussion CG and CM have previously had about protecting the NHS and the next generation that would be using it. Some good ideas were given from the group such as linking in with local community groups, discussions in schools and /or with certain pupils in schools such as the ambassadors (prefects). It was also discussed that we could try to link in with other community groups such as Inspire and Family Wellbeing groups to see if we can invite anyone from these groups to come along to the meetings.

CB (site manager) suggested getting the patient advisors on board with notifying patients of the PVG to drum up some interest and reach patients who may have a lot to offer the PVG but are not aware of it or how it works.

Rather than have an open meeting it was a suggestion that we could have a come and meet the patient voice group, this would be an informal meeting with no agenda to discuss but allowing people to come and meet the group and discuss what the group does, how it works and a way to invite the new members along.

A vote (show of hands) was done with the PV members to decide who was in favour of an open meeting and who was in favour of a controlled meeting in which we can look to extend invites out to different patients in the community.

• In favour of an open meeting - 0
• In favour of a controlled meeting with extended invites – all attendees.

Update on Continuity of Care/Appointments for Chronic Conditions 

CG gave an update on Continuity of care- he explained that the NHS is pointing us back down the route of continuity of care and BMG has a task group in place to plan how this will work for BMG patients.

CG explained the proposed plan is to categorise patients in terms of their need for continuity for example patients with serious conditions will have a need to see the same doctor or the same group of doctors. The next group of patients may require some continuity for a short time whilst dealing with a medical issue and they could then go back to seeing any doctor after the issue is resolved. Then there is a group of patients who don’t have any existing medial issues and will see a doctor on a need to see basis and they will often be urgent care appointment and can see any clinician.

CG explained it is early days for the task group however they have met several times already. It is a large piece of work and to do this alongside the usual running of the practice supporting the 55000 patients and Urgent care appointments. It can be hard as urgent appointments are unpredictable, and it is unknown how many urgent appointments will be needed at any given time.

CG asked the question to the PVG that was asked In the continuity of care task group and that was “how would patients feel if they knew that they had been categorised?” for example someone who was deemed to have a low need for continuity of care would they feel they aren’t getting the same service as someone with a high need. CG also reiterated that this wouldn’t be the case, and all daily submissions will still go through the CAT team.

PVG member AW raised his concerns that the balance between urgent appointments and routine appointments is unbalanced with the focus been on the urgent appointments this makes it difficult to get continuity of care for chronic diseases.

The group recognised that the patients of Morecambe are very diverse, we cater for a lot of over 60’s but also have a lot of chronic conditions, patients with multiple conditions and we also deal with a lot of substance misuse patients.

It was discussed that it would be interesting to have some statistics on the ratio of Urgent Care:

Routine appointments.

• What are the ratios of routine/ urgent care
• Ratio of these appointments that are dealt with by ACPs and GP’s – explained that ACP take a lot of these appointments to free up GPs. VW explained the visit team for example usually has 2 GP and 2 ACPs who are often more appropriate to attend in some circumstances, due to their training and backgrounds.

MR said that knowing you’re getting an appointment with the same doctor or even a group of doctors is reassuring. Knowing your doctor is part of a group and that by been seen by someone in this group your care will be discussed with your usually doctor is good.

CG explained we already run a micro team system in which all doctors are part of a micro team who are all ‘based’ at the same location this means they can link up and discuss patients if needed, share admin tasks when the doctors are off and it helps to offer some continuity.

MB (GP) is hoping to come to the PVG January meeting as she is a lead GP in the continuity of care task group and hopefully by then the group will be further into undertaking the work and will be able to update everybody but it is a promise BMG has made and it has government backing to make continuity of care better for patients.

PVG member AW then highlighted the statistics in the patient survey showed that Continuity of care had got worse and asked why it had got worse. CG explained that a wide number of surveys were sent out, but we only had 171 replies, so this isn’t a true reflection (this led to a conversation regarding the survey documented in A.O.B)

Power of Attorney

discussion regarding the rights you have and when you have them as well as discussing the need for proxy access

VW (GP) gave an update on Power of Attorney(P.O.A), she explained this is a legal document that is put in place for people to make decisions on your behalf but only when you don’t have the capacity to do this yourself. There is P.O.A for both health and welfare, and finance. The document needs to be set up when you have capacity and you can put a number (of your choice) people in charge for when you lack capacity, they can then start taking over the decisions.

To determine capacity a person is assessed under the Mental Capacity Act and there are 4 assessments they need to complete. 1) the capacity to retain information, 2) the capacity to understand information 3) the capacity to weigh up the pros and cons and 4) the ability to communicate the decision. If they can’t do these assessments, they will be deemed to lack capacity. To lack capacity, they also need to have a disease of the brain that effects memory such as dementia.

Capacity is situation specific, so would look at the 4 assessment/questions in relation to the situation they are in.

Some people have capacity for some things but not for others, it can be complicated as capacity can be variable and change hour to hour. It is never known when someone may lack capacity, so it is advised for everyone to have this in place whilst they have capacity. Once a person has lost capacity if they don’t have a P.O.A in place it has to go through the court of protection.

In terms of supporting someone with their health (i.e at the GP surgery) we would ask if you have a P.O.A in place we have a copy of this on the patients record however the P.O.A will only come into place when the patient lacks capacity. At BMG we have a form called a proxy access form which with consent from both parties allows a nominated person(s) to have access to as much or as little as their medical record as agreed. The form needs to be completed with both the patient and nominated trusted person present as will require a show of photo ID. BMG ask for this form to be completed as well as allowing us a copy of the P.O.A form if a person is deemed to still have capacity.

The cost of hunger and hardship – Foodbank stock levels – Request for ideas from our PVG as to what we could do to support

Since this was originally discussed we now have a donation box for both staff and patients at every site, this has been running for a couple of months and is going well. CG and CM went to the foodbank to drop off donations and whilst there, they were shown the stock room which although looked to be well stocked is nowhere near the same amount they used to receive. The foodbank had to top up the donations by spending £1000.

A question to the PVG members to see if anyone has any other ideas to support the local foodbank- a discussion around do the people receiving donations know how to cook with very little ingredients however it seems most of the donations are kettle food donations as some don’t have appliances to cook on. The other suggestion was for the foodbank to give out updates on what type of donations they are needing so people can focus on that.

The donation boxes for both staff and patients will continue to be a permanent fixture at all 5 surgeries.

Language used by Patient Advisors – how can this be improved

This agenda item was raised by PVG member GO following a medical submission around 7 weeks ago, He was told that the doctor wanted to see his partner but we had no appointments, he then had to ask what that meant and was told to ring 111, when he asked what they would do the patient advisor couldn’t answer this.

Discussion was had that small changes to working can have a big impact. CB (site manager) explained she had done a big piece of work looking at improving language used and using positive wording.

This training is ongoing, and the team are always looking at suggestions and feedback to improve the service.

Phone statistics – positive feedback

CG gave out the most recent phone stats.

AOB

• Thought on PVG Group Photo for our “who’s who” campaign on Facebook - We are highlighting all the different roles, in particular the clinical ones, having their photo taken with our PVG members will have a powerful message that they have our patients’ interest at heart and want to make changes for the better. Fully understand if anyone doesn't want their photo taken, it will be going on our social media channels and the internal TV screens This was not discussed at this meeting and will be carried forward to January’s meeting.
• GP National Survey Results PVG member AW explained the survey showed a deterioration in continuity of care, CG explained that only 171 responses came back from the survey and therefore could this be classed as accurate representation. For example, the phone stats on the survey look poor but our internal stats show they have improved with the wait time improving and spending longer on the phones with patients supporting them. PVG member AW explained that it shows the patient experience has got worse with patients saying they cant get through to BMG easily however CM pointed out that the call wait time has significantly dropped which does make it easier to reach us. The PVG agreed it is better than it was for getting through to BMG on the phone and CM explained the footfall in surgery has dropped with people no longer waiting for the surgery to open to come in and request an appointment.

PVG member AW printed off a copy of the survey to hand out, he had also looked at the figures and put together a percentage sheet to help break the information down. It was agreed that we would bring this back in January’s meeting and discuss each of the questions.

• Changes to appointments last minute Raised by PV member BB in regards to their friend Recently a friend of mine had an appointment to see a doctor at around 11.00 am she arrived for it only to be asked if she hadn't got the message to say the time had been changed to around 10.00am She hadn't seen any message and being an hour late she lost her appointment. What is the practice policy for informing patients of changes like this? Surely a phone call should be made and the change not made unless the patient has actually been spoken to and is

1. Aware of the change, and
2. Able to attend at the new time

As it is the appointment was wasted, my friend was inconvenienced and had to re book and I now suspect has a did not attend code added to her record unfairly

PVG member BB gave his account of the above incident with emphasis on the appointment should stay the same until the patient has been spoken to and agreed the new appointment time, and the patient should not be informed of these types of changes via text. CB (site manager) explained the process for rebooking such appointments would normally be a phone call to the patient first but unfortunately some situations don’t allow for this such as busy surgeries, last minute cancellations and no answer on the first contact. VW (GP) explained the pressures of high amount of absences/sickness in the team and the requirement to cancel a lot of clinics at short notice. Work is starting to look at appointment cancellations and rebooking appointments following a cancellation

This led to a question in regards to the BMA Collective Action and if this is still ongoing as this gave hard boundaries and it was felt that there should be flexibility in this. CG explained that before the BMA, clinicians would see 25 patients but then be given extra patients as extras or urgent which would increase their numbers significantly, however this isn’t safe working practice and as VW(GP) explained this leads to burnout of clinicians and then they leave so leaves us in a worse situation. CG explained we are keeping to the 25 patient rule to exercise safer working practice and after the surgery is at safe working capacity patients are referred to 111. PVG member AW explained that 111 aren’t helpful with ongoing, chronic conditions and we shouldn’t be referring to 111 in working hours. CG explained that we do refer to 111 when at safe working capacity and 111 are good for acute issues.

• PVG member GC also brought up that her and her husband attended for an appointment and used the check in screen to check in and then sat to wait, they waited 40 minutes and still hadn’t been called for their appointment so went to the desk and it appeared the screen hadn’t checked them in.
• CM is going to look into this and using the exact date + time of the appointment will be able to look on the database to find out why this didn’t work, CM also explained all machines have recently been updates so should be working.

CG explained that only today in staff training at the PLT we discussed the patient journey and at every stage things can go wrong and how BMG staff can support the patient at each stage, unfortunately the check in screens are one of the areas that were highlighted that things can go wrong at and the PA team will try to ensure they are checking the clinics and the waiting rooms to help alleviate any issues.

• Sign’s at Heysham surgery PVG member GO brought to attention that the surgery at Heysham still has signs up to say number changing soon and the sign behind reception still says ‘Doctors reception’ CM explained that the building isn’t owned by BMG so it has to go through the building manager and as this costs money it hasn’t yet been done.

On a positive note the prescription slips have been updated, and they now have the new number on them.

• Open discussion at the beginning of the meeting A discussion was had at the beginning of the meeting in which PVG member MR discussed the UC centre at Morecambe Health Centre, the discussion was around the X-Ray machine and the type of services offered. CM explained that she can ask for the UC manager Ashley to come to the PVG and give an update and advice on the services they offer. It was felt that the locum GPs would refer patients to UC without understanding what their services were.

Date of next meeting: Thursday 15th January 2026

In person – A poll will be sent VIA email to vote for the next meeting place. We will go with the majority vote and this will be emailed to everybody ahead of the next meeting in January.

Add on the new number to the minutes.

Provisional 2026 meeting dates: April 26, July 26 and October 2