AGM Meeting Minutes - May 2025

Thursday 15 May 2025

Present:

Kathryn Blurton (KB); Dr Brian Taylor; David Forward (DF); Peter Frean (PF); Robert Harland (RH);); Sue Lake (SL); Liz Plaatsman (LP); Jacqui Ruhlig (JR); Lisa Smallacombe (LS); Judy Wright (JW)

Absent:

Deborah Mitchell (DM); Lynette Oram (LO); Julia Vaughan-Smith (JVS); Chris Kitson (CK); Mark McGlade (MM)

1.    Welcome and Apologies  

SL welcomed everyone. Apologies received from Deborah Mitchell (DM); Lynette Oram (LO); Julia Vaughan-Smith (JVS); Chris Kitson (CK); Mark McGlade (MMc). David Forward also gave apologies from Gillian Forward (member of the public).

2.    Approval of the Previous AGM minutes

Minutes of the previous AGM in May 2024 were agreed to be true and correct.

3.    Matters Arising from previous minutes

A public health awareness session took place in February, covered later in the agenda. 

4.    Chairpersons report

• SL read out the Chairperson’s report, which is Appendix 1 attached to these minutes.
• DF thanked SL for her tireless hard work over the past year, this was echoed by the rest of the Board.
• The PPG would like to thank Dr Davis for her support for the PPG and we all wish her a happy and healthy retirement.

5.    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. 

As per the March 2025 meeting, all members bar LP and JVS, are due for re-election and are happy to stand for a further term, if elected.  LP and JVS due again for election in 2026.  In addition, there are two potential vacancies for the team as it stands. No members are stepping down this AGM. The remaining members have confirmed they are happy to be re-elected. In the absence of attendance by members of the public the election of candidates was conducted by members of the Committee. It was proposed by committee members and seconded by committee members that the above members be re-elected to the PPG.

6.    Appointment of Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary for 2025/2026  

It was proposed by and seconded by Members that Sue Lake be re-elected to the PPG as Chairperson. It was proposed and seconded by Members that David Forward be re-elected to the PPG as Vice Chairperson. It was proposed and seconded by Members that Deborah Mitchell be re-elected to the PPG as secretary.

7.    Update from Dr Brian Taylor of the Budleigh Salterton Medical Centre.

BT informed the PPG that the surgery has a well-staffed good core team.  Dr Davis will be retiring on Monday and Dr Barak St John has been employed.  The majority of Dr Davis’s patients will be transferred to his list while some patients have already been transferred to Dr Kate Tailby’s list at the beginning of the year.  BT explained that they have a young GP team which feels good to be part of.  With regard the nursing team KB explained that there has been a tricky few months but likewise with the GP team the nursing team now has a longevity feel with the recent employment of Anna Callow.

BT spoke about system pressures that were currently facing GPs, at the current time we are coming out of the winter pressures although this year did not seem as bad as in previous years.

BT was asked to talk about the Woodbury, Exmouth and Budleigh Primary Care Network (WEB PCN).  BT has been Clinical Director (CD) of the PCN but has recently decided to step down to allow fresh energy and vision to move the PCN forward.  Dr Alex Gillies from Haldon Surgery is now Clinical Director with Dr Kerry Boyle from Rolle being the Chairperson.  Sandra Preece remains PCN Manager and Christy Thurlow is the Design and Transformation lead.

Throughout his time as CD, BT has worked hard to form relationships with the PCN Eastern Collaborative Board, the Devon Collaborative Board and the ICB, this has resulted in the WEB PCN being in a strong position to negotiate at higher levels.  

With regard to finances BT explained that the funding for PCNs is slowly increasing while income for Practices is stagnating at the current time; there is a feeling that the government would like Primary Care Services to be funded through the PCN route.  The new PCN contract has lessened the restriction that had been in place which means there is now greater freedom for the PCN to create a workforce that would best serve our population, this means there will be subtle changes to the current team.

Teams are made up of people employed under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS); the current WEB PCN consists of:

Pharmacy Team: this is a team that is shared across all 5 practices in the WEB PCN, there are 3 Pharmacists and 3 Pharmacist Technicians.

Paramedic: Paul Ferns works full time spread over 4 days.  He has a clinic that is visible to all 4 Practices and he is mainly used for the surgery’s duty Dr to book home visits.  Budleigh uses the paramedic service a lot.

First Contact Physio (FCP):  Each surgery has their own physio who works in their practice. Also all surgeries can book into each other’s physio clinic list.  The PCN feels this service is not working well and have decided to hand the service level agreement back to the RDUH.  The PCN felt that this was a duplication of service as there is already a community physiotherapy service in place  BT explained that he did not expect the patients of Budleigh to notice too much that there is no longer an FCP provision because of the existing community service.

HeadsUp:  This is a team that works in collaboration with primary schools to support children with their mental health.  Between 80% and 85% of initial contact to this service is made by parents and schools.  The team work extremely hard and provide a lot of support and expertise to parents.

Mental Health & Wellbeing Team: This team is currently going through a rebranding and will now be known as Health and Wellbeing Team.  The decision for this was because there is a duplication of services.  This team is made up of 2 Social Prescribers and 1 Coach.

In addition to these teams, surgeries also benefit from ARRS roles such as General Practitioner Assistant (GPA) who assist the duty Dr and recently the PCN has supplied each Practice with a FeNO machine as well as many other behind the scenes roles. A FeNO machine is a Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide measuring tool, it measures the amount of nitric oxide in  a person’s breath, this measurement can be a marker for inflammation of the airways, such as asthma. BT highlighted to the Group that there is a useful section about the WEB PCN on the Budleigh Medical Centre Website and the WEB PCN also have their own website which is really useful. The PPG will include details in the new PPG Newsletter so that patients are aware. 

SL asked the Group if there were any questions for BT, LP asked for more details regarding the paramedic. BT explained how his skills are used by the different surgeries and also that there was hope that in the future he may also be able to help with end-of-life care.

BT was asked if the PCN could create a Palliative Care Team.  BT explained that the PCN cannot create a team that is already being provided under other funding.  PCNs have to provide teams that meet the ‘additionality’ principle.  Further discussion was had regarding palliative care and BT suggested that board funnel their concerns to James Rutherford – Community Services Manager. LP asked about a Dementia provision, The Admiral Nurses are reforming but should be more in evidence shortly. The local memory clinic is still being ran by the RDUH.

BT ended his update about the Web PCN with projections for the future.  There is little detail at the current time but there is an on-going digital transformation within the NHS that will mean greater online access for patients.  ‘Neighbourhood health’ features heavily in the Government plan but there is little detail as to what this will look like.  BT believes this may result in PCNs working with shared vision.a 

SL thanked BT for his comprehensive update about the PCN and reminded the Board to keep patients updated with the services that are out there.  RH asked BT if trainee GPs are updated about changes and BT explained that he is on the Education Board at Exeter University and runs sessions regarding medico-politics and ensures that they are aware of the bigger picture.

BT thanked the PPG for their continued support and work which they do to not only to dispel misinformation but also in bringing patient issues to the Medical Centre’s attention.    

BT and KB left the meeting at this point.

8.    Any other business:  

• Health Information Sessions:  SL has been trying to arrange a session for June with Dr Dyer however despite her efforts this will not be able to go ahead and SL will email her contact at the Nuffield Charity.  It was agreed by the Group that they would plan for a session in October after the busy summer period.  SL will ask for there to be an interval to allow PPG members to mingle and talk to the public.  It was brought up how in previous years  Budleigh Salterton’s late night shopping evening, just before Christmas, had been a good opportunity to mingle and chat with patients.
• Patient Surveys (Appendix 2) Patient Communication:  SL asked if members of the Group had managed to talk to many patients recently.
• DF reiterated that this was a good opportunity to dispel misinformation.  There was a consensus among the Board that patients’ concerns were being brought to light officially.  RH said he hears most of the “grumbles” whilst queuing in the chemist.  SL asked the Group to continue  to let her  know what they hear so that this can be pulled together to determine where the “grumbles” indicate more worrying concerns. Further discussion was had about the chemist, SL noted that the staff work extremely hard but are often swamped.  Ronak from Clarepharm will be attending the next meeting where it will be suggested to him that they should have one queue for purchases and another for prescriptions.
• Newsletter:  SL thanked members of the Group and the Medical Centre for their efforts in creating, producing and delivering the newsletter.  Following on from BTs suggestion there will be an update about the PCN, SL will speak to DM to see if an outline could be created with a link to their website and to discuss some changes to the working with regard how often the PPG meets.  SL asked for volunteers to assist wPF and LO with folding the newsletters and helping with delivery, JR, JW and RH volunteered to help when needed.

LP fed back to the board that rudeness to the reception staff had been noted and that there should be a note in the newsletter to remind patients to please treat staff with respect.

SL went around the Group asking members if they needed to bring anything else to the meeting.

PF felt that newer younger members were needed, SL explained that she keeps in touch with a recently retired member of the NHS but finding people to actively support the PPG can be difficult.   We need a ‘Your PPG Needs You’ Poster!  SL will ask Exmouth Community College if they have any students who would like to send feedback on Medical Centre services. It is possible they may wish to occasionally attend the PPG as part of a project but  this would be difficult given the current timing of PPG meetings.

9.    Meeting Closure:  

The meeting closed at 10am. A date in May 2026 for the next AGM will be set in due course. The date of the next PPG meeting is July 1st at 1pm in the Norman Centre.