About the Patient Participation Group

A PPG is a group of patient interested in health and healthcare issues, who want to get involved with and support the running of their practice.

The aim of The Wells Medical Practice PPG is to give patients at our surgery an opportunity to become actively involved with the doctors and staff in planning and developing new services and to take an active interest in their own healthcare.

Meetings are held remotely on a bi-monthly basis.

Interested in joining?

If you’re interested please complete the following form.

Join the PPG

The information you supply us will be used lawfully, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. The Data Protection Act 2018 gives you the right to know what information is held about you and sets out rules to make sure that this information is handled properly.

Minutes of The Wells Medical Practice (TWMP) PPG Committee Meeting

To request minutes of previous meetings, please contact the practice

Date:

1st July 2025 at 12.30pm via Teams

Attendees:

David Kirkham, Deana Leadbeter, Lucinda Curtis, Mike Tyrer, Nancy Stone, Doreen Williams ,Inger  Siegstad, Elaine Lowe, Jill Ruddock, Sue Taylor

Practice staff:

Louise Handford (practice Manager), Elle Clarke (Officer Manager), Tony Kung (Senior clinical pharmacist) Humara (GP Trainee), - Dr. Myers-Lamptey  

Apologies:  

Roderic Macmillan, George Skomorowski, Pam Royle, Diane Morgan, Harriet Clare 

Agenda Items:

  • Tony's presentation on pharmacist role
  • Newsletter review
  • NHS 10-year plan discussion
  • Review of last meeting
  • Mental health team update

Thank you to everyone who attended our latest Patient Participation Group (PPG) meeting.

Here's a summary of what we discussed and decided:

Meet Tony – Our Clinical Pharmacist

Tony shared his background and the work he does in our practice and the local primary care network:

  • Experience: 7–8 years in hospitals and 4.5 years in his current role with West Kent Primary Care.
  • Services Provided:
    • Annual medication reviews (usually around your birthday month)
    • Support with medication queries, side effects, and supply issues
    • Help with managing long-term conditions like diabetes
    • ADHD medication shortage management through direct supplier contact
    • Reporting serious side effects through the Yellow Card system

He works across practices in Tunbridge Wells PCN, which includes 8 local surgeries.

Supporting Roles

  • Pharmacy Technicians: Diploma-qualified staff who help triage blood pressure readings and manage asthma questionnaires.

Newsletter Updates

The draft Summer Newsletter will be out by the end of the week and will include:

  • Information on Mounjaro, a weight loss injection
  • Introductions to practice team members
  • Distribution via our website and the Anima platform

Suggestion: Add a section on measles vaccination for school-aged children.

NHS 10-Year Plan

We discussed national plans for the NHS, focusing on:

  • Preventative healthcare
  • Better use of digital services
  • Closer links between health and community services

Note: There is currently no extra funding allocated for these initiatives.

Review of the last meeting

Agreed no outstanding tasks.

Mental Health Support

We heard updates on local mental health services:

  • Chatty Café: Wednesdays at the Kitchen Table – a chance to meet and talk
  • Flourish Allotment Project : Community gardening for wellbeing
  • Safe Haven : Open 18:00–23:00 daily for mental health crises

The group is considering a visit to the Flourish allotment—more info to come.

Decisions Made

  • David will continue as PPG Chair
  • Feature Tony’s role in an upcoming newsletter maybe autumn.

Action Points

  • Louise will send out the draft summer newsletter and NHS 10-year plan information to all members
  • Consider including measles vaccination information in the newsletter
  • Look into a group visit to the Flourish project

Next meeting date 02/09/2025

Practice population research

Practice population research by EC (Post Meeting)

  • Practice Population: 19,726
  • Gender: 50% female, 50% male
  • Age:
    • Children and young people (0-17yrs) – 20%
    • Working age adults (18-64yrs) – 64%
    • Older people (65yrs+) – 16%

Number of surveys sent: 413

Appointments / Anima

How did You book Your Appointment?

  • Online/Anima: 62.2%
  • In Person: 17.4%
  • By Phone: 12.1%
  • Other: 8.3%

Ease to book Appointment 

  • 1 Very Dissatisfied: 8 (6.2%)
  • 2: 8 (6.2%)
  • 3: 32 (24.8%)
  • 4: 29 (22.5%)
  • 5 Very Satisfied: 52 (40.3%)

Appointment Times Offered

  • 1 Very Dissatisfied: 10 (11.5%)
  • 2: 6 (6.9%)
  • 3: 24 (27.6%)
  • 4: 12 (13.8%)
  • 5 Very Satisfied: 35 (40.2%)

Experience of Using Anima

  • 1 Very Dissatisfied: 15 (13.9%)
  • 2: 17 (15.7%)
  • 3: 29 (26.9%)
  • 4: 11 (20.%)
  • 5 Very Satisfied: 25 (23.1%)

Patient Comments on Anima

What Patients Like about Anima?

  • Process of booking appointment is very smooth
  • Many patient found the service easy to use and had no problem to access it
  • Practical

What could be improved?

  • Takes a while to set up an Anima account
  • Lengthy questions that ask for irrelevant information
  • Difficult to fill in all the questions in 30 minutes
  • Some patients would still like the option to speak to someone rather than having to use Anima
  • Have all the systems in one place

The GP Surgery Team

How Helpful was the Receptionist Team?

Friendliness/Helpfulness of the reception Team

  • 1 Very Dissatisfied: 7 (6.7%)
  • 2: 3 (2.9%)
  • 3: 8 (7.6%)
  • 4: 20 (19%)
  • 5 Very Satisfied: 67 (63.8%)

Ease at which you got through to reception over the phone?

  • 1 Very Dissatisfied: 10 (11.5%)
  • 2: 6 (6.9%)
  • 3: 24 (27.6%)
  • 4: 12 (13.8%)
  • 5 Very Satisfied: 35 (40.2%)

How Efficient are we at Dealing with your Requests?

  • Very Dissatisfied: 6.7%
  • Slightly Dissatisfied: 2.9%
  • Neutral: 7.6%
  • Slightly Satisfied: 19.0%
  • Very Satisfied: 63.8%

Respondents that were Satisfied with the Surgery

  • Dissatisfied: 3.1%
  • Neutral: 18.2%
  • Satisfied: 78.7%

Other

Overall Look/Feel of the Practice’s Reception Area?

  • Very Dissatisfied: 2.4%
  • Slightly Dissatisfied: 4.0%
  • Neutral: 12.1%
  • Slightly Satisfied: 31.5%
  • Very Satisfied: 50%