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Patient Participation Group (PPG)

Our Patient Participation Group (PPG) meet every 2 months to provide a forum for discussion about the practice.

About our Patient Participation Group

The PPG meet 2 monthly and hold an Annual General Meeting, which normally occurs in May. Membership is for three years renewable. The Chair is currently Sue Lake who has many years’ experience working within the NHS.

The group comprises the Practice Manager and patients with a broad range of life and work experiences, reflecting many of the diverse needs of the Practice. We aim to develop a positive and constructive relationship between patients, the Practice and the community it serves.

By developing and improving communications between patients and the Practice, the Group provides an avenue for patients’ input into the way facilities and services are planned and executed and to influence those services to better support patient needs.

We provide constructive feedback on patient and community needs, concerns and interests, and support by collecting patient opinions and experiences to help the practice to evaluate its services. The Group has also organised educational events for patients and helped with surveys of patients' satisfaction.

There are no membership requirements except that members must be patients registered with the practice. PPG members should as far as possible, be representative of the practice population and include people from different genders, ages, ethnicities, disabilities and health needs. Membership of the Core Group is limited to 9.

Latest Meeting Minutes

Date: Tuesday 1 July 2025 started at 1pm ended at 2pm
Location: Norman Centre, Public Hall
Present: Chris Kitson (CK); David Forward (DF); Peter Frean (PF); Robert Harland (RH); Sue Lake (SL); Mark McGlade (MM); Deborah Mitchell (DM); Jacqui Ruhlig (JR); Julia Vaughan Smith (JVS)
Absent: Mark McGlade (MM); Lynette Oram (LO); Liz Plaatsman (LP); Judy Wright (JW)

1. Welcome and Apologies

: Apologies received from MM, LO, LP and JW. SL introduced Christy Thurlow, WEB PCN, and Ronak Maroo, Clarepharm.

2. Previous Minutes

The minutes from both Tuesday 4 March 2025 and Thursday 15 May 2025 have been circulated to all members and agreed to be a true account of proceedings.

3. Web PCN

Christy Thurlow has worked with the WEB PCN since it’s conception and more recently is the Digital and Transformation Lead. Essentially, she works with the 5 practices to support and implement new technology for the benefit of both patients and staff. She does not work with individual patients.

As part of her role she reviews new and existing digital tools which can benefit general practice and give patients new tools to use to access healthcare. Not everyone has access to these tools and not everyone likes these tools and she looks at how these patients still have the access they need.

Recent ongoing projects she has supported Budleigh with are:

a. Care navigation training
b. NHS App promotion

And new projects are:

a. Review the current telephone system to ensure Budleigh are benefitting from all the additional software it offers

She reported attending a recent meeting where John McCormack who leads on digital innovation locally did a presentation on a “dummy surgery” in Bristol, where medical centre staff can trial new technology in a simulated environment that mimics real patient responses and outcomes. The data gathered will help inform how new technology is introduced into general practice.

Christy is keen to be involved in the PPG and asked for feedback on how they felt the community would like information on technology delivered.

CK asked that our demographics are looked at to ensure that any new tools are age and ability appropriate.

SL advised that clear information which is easy to read and simplified would be helpful.

PF mentioned the frustration of having multiple systems to access own healthcare.

SystmOnline is practice specific. NHS App is UK wide and overall will have more information available than SystmOnline and is being currently updated and improved. MyCare is for Royal Devon and Exeter and community nursing information and currently does not integrate with either SystmOnline or the NHS App.

4. Clarepharm

Ronak Maroo is the owner of Clarepharm in Budleigh and he took over the licence in July 2023 and then merged the two high street stores in October 2023.

Ronak advised he has a motivated team working in Budleigh and feels there have been vast improvements and that the feedback from customers is very good.

SL advised that she had also heard positive feedback from the community and that folk do appreciate the pharmacy.

RH asked if there were any plans to address the queues and waiting times.

Ronak explained that they are actively working with patients to improve the process. For repeat medication collections, the pharmacy now provides patients with cards indicating the earliest date their prescription will be ready. This approach has been very effective.

He’s encouraging patients to avoid dropping in on the off chance their medication is ready, as this disrupts workflow and creates unnecessary pressure on staff. That said, he fully recognises that urgent needs arise, and the team always does its best to accommodate those situations.

The new cards also help reduce repeat visits by clearly communicating when medications will be available, improving efficiency for both patients and the pharmacy team.

The pharmacy are still offering a free delivery to patients within a 5 mile radius. This is for housebound patients, either permanently or temporarily housebound.

SL asked if the pharmacy contract had seen an uplift in renumeration. Ronak advised that a settlement was agreed 3 months ago, but it was still not at a level which he had hoped.

5. Practice Update

Water cooler: A member of the PPG asked if the practice would be reinstating the water cooler downstairs for the public. DM advised this was stopped in April 2025. We had a continuing problem with children playing with it, which caused puddles and potentials slips; complaints from patients when it ran out. We now have paper cups behind the reception so our team can get a cup of water if requested by a patient.

Audiology Service Update: Lisa has received this information from Seachange which can be shared with patients.

If you need to register for an audiology service: Scrivens is one of the four companies that now cover audiology services in this area. They run appointments from one of the rooms here in Seachange, just as Chime used to do.

If you would like to go onto Scrivens patient list then please call them and they will ask for your name, Date of Birth, Address, NHS Number and Details of your GP Surgery - 0800 027 4487 or 0800 027 5102 Or email customercare@scrivens.com

Once you are registered with them you will be able to call the customer services phoneline for replacement batteries.

If you are not yet registered with Scrivens, or are registered with another NHS Audiology provider, you can call Exeter Audiology on 01392 305746 and they will send out batteries in the post. Please have all the same details listed above when you call.

Please click this link to see further details of the new audiology services for Eastern Devon - Audiology services in Eastern Devon - One Devon

SL advised that Chime had been unable to share their patient list with the other providers due to data sharing guidelines and that providers are commercial organisations.

Patients are reporting problems with the new service and waits for hearing aid batteries as they can no longer be collected from the surgery or Seachange. PF advised that he followed the above guidelines and received batteries within a couple of days via the post.

DM thanks JW for reviewing the website routinely and checking for updates / out of date information.

6. PPG Members Feedback:

No further feedback.

7. Summer Newsletter

DM will arrange for this to be completed by 04/08/2025 and ready for folding by 06/08/2025. QR codes for both the practice website and the PCN website to be added.

Agreed to include information regarding the patient talk in October.

CK asked if the newsletters could be printed in a small format which may be easier for shops to display. DM can print some A5 copies for the next newsletter if there is a request for a specific number.

8. Any other business

None.

9. Next meeting:

Tuesday 9 September 2025.

Further Information

Latest Newsletter

See our latest newsletter

Committee Members

Chair Person

Sue Lake

Vice Chair Person

David Forward

Members

Peter Frean
Robert Harland
Chris Kitson
Mark McGlade
Deborah Mitchell (Secretary, Practice Manager)
Lynette Oram
Liz Plaatsman
Jacqui Ruhlig
Julia Vaughan-Smith
Judy Wright

Contact the PPG

Patient Participation Group
Budleigh Salterton Medical Centre
1 The Lawn
Budleigh Salterton
Devon
EX9 6LS

Patient Group post-box in the Medical Centre.

Constitution

Name: Budleigh Salterton Medical Centre Patient Group
Association: The Group will maintain regular communications with both local and national organisations as appropriate.

Objectives of the Patient Group

1. Communication

Members of The Group should act as a two-way communication channel between the Practice and the community in order to help patients use facilities to the best advantage and the Practice to implement policies influenced by representative patient views. The Group is not a complaints processing organisation.

The Group may from time to time conduct surveys in conjunction with the Practice.
The Group will produce a regular newsletter to keep patients informed and made aware of health news concerning patients and the Practice
The Group will encourage patients to put ideas and questions to the Practice and for the Practice to respond in a reasonable manner

2. Community 'Needs'

The Group will have a role in assisting in any assessment of community ‘needs’ to help the Practice improve its service.
The Group will develop and promote ways for patients to help one another in times of medical need and to develop a community spirit amongst patients.
The Group will actively assist the Practice and the Woodbury, Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton (WEB) locality commissioning group to assess patient needs in the community so as to ensure that appropriate resources may be applied locally to changing needs and requirements.
The Group will be informed of the general practice policies relating to the Locality Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to which the Practice belongs. The Group will express opinions on these policies on behalf of the patients. The Practice will give appropriate consideration to these opinions within their CCG.

3. Health Education

The Group will work with the Practice to encourage health education needs in the community in order for the Practice to provide appropriate and useful community health education meetings.
The Group will help patients become more informed and educated about their health and healthcare, by providing means for the effective dissemination of health and care information of all kinds.

4. Membership

Membership and election to the group shall be open and free to all patients and staff of the Practice.

5. Annual General Meeting (AGM)

A meeting open to all patients shall be held annually. Notice of the day, time and place will be given via notice boards and Practice Newsletter. At least fourteen days’ notice of the meeting and venue will be given.
The Committee chair or his/her appropriate substitute shall present at each AGM a report on the activities of the Group and its own proceedings during the previous year with a statement of accounts (if applicable) and proposed future plans and developments and will conduct an election to fill the vacancies on the Group’s committee. If there are more than three nominations a paper ballot will be held for Practice patients in attendance.

Constitution and conduct of the committee

The business of the Group will be conducted by a committee of elected and co-opted members and non-voting representatives of the practice including whenever possible a partnership doctor.
The committee will comprise nine members who shall be patients of the practice, at least two of whom shall be non-residents of Budleigh Salterton and shall be appointed by nomination to and election by the patients present at the annual meeting of the patients of the practice. In the event that not all nine members are appointed at the AGM, the Committee may co-opt additional members at the earliest convenience.
An elected member shall serve for three years and to ensure the continuity of the committee three of the members will be elected each year to the vacancies caused by the time limit.
The committee may co-opt additional members for specific purposes or to fill a vacancy.
A quorum for decisions at a meeting shall consist of four voting members plus one of the officers.
The Committee shall meet at least four times a year and be responsible for organising and calling the AGM of patients.
At the first meeting of the Committee after the patients’ AGM they may appoint a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman and a Secretary for the ensuing year. The Secretary may or may not be an elected member of the committee.