There are 105 GP practices across Norfolk and Waveney. Most of them have patient groups, often referred to as Patient Participation Groups (PPGs).

PPGs work in partnership with their GP practice and are vital in ensuring that the patient voice is heard. We are keen to hear about different models for hearing the patient voice in primary care and will be developing this alongside our current patient groups.

PPGs work in different ways, some meet in person, others communicate with their practice online – all are keen to welcome and involve new members.

PPGs provide an opportunity for local people to get involved with their practice and influence the provision of local health services. Members contribute their views, make suggestions and provide feedback on services they may have used. Groups can also get involved with supporting local health initiatives and can engage with a wide range of health and care professionals.

Norfolk and Waveney ICB is working to develop a programme of support to local PPGs and practices.

We have worked with Healthwatch Norfolk to conduct an evaluation of Patient Participation Groups across Norfolk and Waveney and gather feedback to develop an understanding of what additional support the ICB can provide to help PPGs and practices be the most successful and develop further.

This has led to the development of a new PPG Toolkit that aims to help groups establish and run a successful PPG. You can read the report and download the toolkit below.

Resources

• PPG Toolkit
• Norfolk and Waveney PPG Evaluation report

The Patients Association also has a toolkit to help PPGs get started. It is also available in a video format.

Social Media Managed Service

The ICB Digital team has commissioned a paid for social media service managed by Redmoor Health, initially for one year, to help interested practices develop active and positive social media channels.  This includes establishing channels where needed and posting positive health improvement messages on behalf of the practices involved. There are currently over forty practices signed up in Norfolk and Waveney.

Having an active account also encourages communications with the practices around a wide variety of topics including promoting their PPGs and hearing feedback on services.  The ICB Communications and Engagement team are supporting this initiative by working together with Digital to provide additional social media content over and above the commissioned service. The team are supporting the promotion of this service as a recognition of the future benefits to practices of using social media to work in partnership with their populations.

You can find out more about different PPG activities and projects below.

If you are interested in finding out more about your own PPG, talk to your practice reception team or contact us at nwicb.haveyoursay@nhs.net

PPG Case Studies