Patient Participation Group (PPG)

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.

• Name:  The name of the group shall be Budleigh Salterton Medical Centre Patient Group (The 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 information gathering 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.

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

Election to the group shall be open and free to all patients and staff of the Practice, and upon request they will be supplied with a copy of these election rules and Constitution.

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 the local press, 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 a maximum of 13 and no less than 6 members who are patients of the Medical Centre. At least two will ideally be resident outside Budleigh Salterton. Committee members shall be appointed by nomination and election by patients present at an Annual General meeting. In the event that the meeting is unable to form a committee of at least 6 then the committee has power to 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. A number of 3 members of the committee should ideally remain in post to ensure continuity of the committee
• 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 shall 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.

• Meeting Date: Tuesday 12th May 2026
• Present:  Kathryn Blurton (KB); Suzanne Cosgrave (SC); David Forward (DF); Robert Harland (RH); Sue Lake (SL); Deborah Mitchell (DM); Lynette Oram (LO); Liz Plaatsman (LP); Brian Taylor (BJT); Julia Vaughan-Smith (JVS); Sheila Whelan (SW); Judy Wright (JW). 4 members of the public attended this meeting
• Absent: Chris Kitson (CK); Mark McGlade (MM)

Welcome and Apologies  

SL welcomed everyone. Apologies received from Chris Kitson (CK) and Mark McGlade (MM).

Approval of the Previous AGM minutes

Minutes of the previous AGM in May 2025 were agreed to be true and correct.

Matters Arising from previous minutes

Health Information talks have been given by Consultant Cardiologists who work within the RDUH and Exeter Nuffield.  These have been well attended.  

Mr Beresford (AB), a member of the public, suggested that future talks could be relating cancer.  He was invited by SL put forward a name of a suitable doctor who would be prepared to give a patient talk.

SL also discussed the interaction with Clarepharm as having been positive but that they had been unable to accommodate separate queuing for people collecting prescriptions and those waiting to see the pharmacist for health advice. due the pharmacy size.  DM added that the practice also met with the pharmacy periodically.

Chairpersons report

The Budleigh Salterton Patient Participation Group (PPG) has had another active year and continues to regularly meet face to face with Medical Centre (MC). We also continue to do our utmost to remain closely engaged with those who are registered at the Budleigh Salterton MC.

The feedback that the PPG receives (together with the “Friends and Family” information the MC collects) continues to be very positive about the Practice. However, there can be occasions when the service is not as expected. If the complaint is accompanied by details of the patient concerned we have found that the MC always responds directly to the patient and there is the opportunity for a face to face meeting to talk through the problem and how to resolve it.

As reported last year, the PPG continues to hear a range of opinions about the available healthcare IT systems. Recently some members of the PPG joined promotion of the NHS App by the MC which many have found to be useful. However, since then some further changes to the App appear to have caused some confusion and the PPG are in discussion with the Primary Care Network about how to keep patients regularly informed and supported when they have queries.

As pressure builds upon our national healthcare services it is increasingly important that we make best use of other available supporting services and the PPG endeavours to learn about what is available in our area. In support of this two of our members attended the launch meeting of Seachange’s “Community Connector Project” to keep us up to speed with what is on offer – and there is much on offer from organisations such as Seachange.

During the year the PPG has also met with the management team at the local pharmacy and there is a good and open exchange of views at these meetings. Not only can we feed back the comments we receive from customers, but we have also learned much about the details of running a pharmacy which, as you may appreciate, is a complex business. We continue to remind patients that, whenever possible, think ahead about repeat requests for medication and allow a minimum of 5 days for the MC and your pharmacy to complete the order. We have heard a good number of positive comments about the medical advice services that the pharmacy provides, these are often available when you just drop in at the pharmacy.

The PPG also met with representatives from the Home Safeguard Service from East Devon District Council to learn more about the “RED Button” service. The service is provided locally during standard office hours but is then covered by a centralised helpdesk service out of business hours. The out of hours service has led to some confusion by recipients of the service but the PPG were assured by EDDC that the service remains safe.

The PPG arranged a further health information talk for local residents in October. The topic was “Palpitations, Blackouts and Dizzy Spells” and it was held at Seachange. The event was very well attended and our speakers (Medical Consultants from the Nuffield Hospital in

Exeter) provided considerable useful information as well as answering a good number of questions from the audience. We plan to continue arranging such talks but they are dependent upon the availability of clinical speakers and this will affect frequency.

The PPG’s Newsletter continues with Spring, Summer and Winter issues. These are available electronically on the MC website and hard copies are left in a number of public spaces and shops around Budleigh Salterton and the surrounding villages. We still receive positive feedback that the information in the Newsletter is very helpful and many find it an interesting read.

We have reviewed the PPG Constitution recently and have drafted a few amendments to reflect local changes within the NHS Integrated Care Board and to better reflect our activities. This draft version will be reviewed for acceptance in today’s AGM.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow PPG team members for all their contributions over the past year. Members of the PPG team (Lynette and Peter) have led and provided considerable support in the collation and delivery of the hard copies of the PPG Newsletter. In addition, Liz pulls together useful reports from the data collected by the Friends and Family questionnaires. She and Julia remain focussed upon the processes we might use to ensure we have good insight into patient views and equally, that patients know we are there to represent them. Everyone has been very supportive with the logistics associated with our public talks and given freely of their time. As always, I am also grateful to David who, as Vice Chair, provides sound advice and guidance (and is also an excellent proofreader)!

Especial thanks are due to Debbie Mitchell of the MC for not only ensuring our meetings are well recorded but also providing invaluable support for the Newsletter. She gives us plenty of very informative content and provides the all-important printing and electronic distribution.

This year Peter and Jacqui are stepping down from the PPG and I would like to thank them very much for their contributions. I am very pleased to say we have two new people ready to stand for election at this meeting, so the strength of this PPG remains strong and purposeful.

As always, the PPG will be very pleased to hear from local residents who are registered at the Budleigh Salterton MC. Good news is always welcome but we also listen to concerns and share them with our very responsive MC team. You can contact us by leaving a letter addressed to the PPG at the reception desk in the Medical Centre or by post to:

The PPG
Budleigh Salterton Medical Centre
1 The Lawn
Budleigh Salterton EX9 6LS

Sue Lake
Chairperson
Budleigh Salterton Medical Centre PPG. May 2026

Election of Committee members

The PPG Constitution allows for up to 13 elected members. Committee members serve for a 3-year period and can then stand for further re-election, if they choose. 

Peter Frean and Jacqui Ruhlig have stepped down and did not attend the AGM today.  Peter has volunteered his time with the PPG for 15 years and Jacqui for 8 years.  SL expressed her thanks for their support and commitment over the years. 

The following members were elected or re-elected within the last 3 years and have confirmed previously they are happy to continue as a PPG member – Robert Harland, Chris Kitson, Mark McGlade, Lynnette Oram, Julia Vaughan-Smith, Judy Wright

• Re-election: Liz Plaatsman
  • Proposer: Sue Lake
  • Seconder: David Forward

The following new members were elected:

• Election: Suzanne Cosgrave
  • Proposer: Lynette Oram
  • Seconder: David Forward
• Election: Sheila Whelan 
  • Objection: Andrew Beresford – overruled
  • Proposer: Lynette Oram
  • Seconder: Deborah Mitchell

DM requested AB not to make personal allegations about PPG members.

Appointment of Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretary for 2026/2027  

• Chairperson: Sue Lake
  • Proposer: Suzanne Cosgrove    
  • Seconder: Deborah Mitchell
• Vice: David Forward
  • Proposer: Lynette Oram    
  • Seconder: Sue Lake
• Secretary: Deborah Mitchell
  • Proposer: Sue Lake    
  • Seconder: David Forward

DF thanked SL for her tireless contribution to the PPG and for keeping members informed, included and updated.  Her contribution has not gone unnoticed.

Confirm / Agree PPG Constitution Changes

SL read through the current constitution detailing the suggested changes.  PPG members were happy to formalise the changes.

AB objected and felt patients should have reasonable time to review the changes prior to them being finalised.  It was agreed these changes would be added to the minutes and the website so that patients can review and forward their comments to the PPG.  These comments will be collated and discussed at the next PPG meeting in July.

Any other business

KB thanked SL and all the PPG members for their support of the group on behalf of patients and their support to the practice.

LO expressed her gratitude to the health centre for the care she has received which it also noted by visitors to Budleigh.

JVS asked about engagement with younger patients and suggestions were made of establishing links with the library, nurseries, childminders and primary school were suggested for further discussion

An unknown member of the public expressed her thanks for the excellent health care she has received from the practice.

Another unknown member of the public expressed that when her mother had passed away in 2015 there has been no signposting on support, and this would have been helpful.  
    
AB shared that the RDUH had an excellent health library. RDUH have confirmed they have a library which is available to members only and those interested should contact them direct for eligibility.

AB advised that the PPG agendas should be made public in advance.  SL advised that the PPG followed the same agenda and that this could be added to the practice website for information.

AB asked what the role of the PPG Chairperson was.  DM advised she would add some information regarding this role to the minutes.  Please see below:

• The Chairperson of the Patient Participation Group provides leadership to ensure the PPG operates effectively and in line with its constitution. The Chair leads meetings in a fair and inclusive manner, supports good governance and conduct, and acts as the main link between the PPG and the Practice. The role ensures patient views are represented constructively, communication remains two way, and the PPG focuses on its agreed objectives rather than individual complaints.

SL checked with each attendee and closed the meeting when there were no further comments / questions.

Meeting Closure

The meeting closed at 13:55. A date in May 2027 for the next AGM will be set in due course.