Patient Participation Group

 

The Lonsdale Medical Centre Patient Participation Group (PPG) was formed in 2010 and is an independent body which acts as an interface between the patients and the Practice staff.

Our PPG experienced a revival in 2024 after nearly a two-year hiatus and now has eleven committee members who meet quarterly.  We also have a 'virtual' membership who receive newsletters and surveys.  There are currently 235 members on our mailing list.  Please contact the Patient Services Manager if you would like to join committee membership or the virtual PPG.

The aim of Lonsdale Medical Centre PPG is to give patients of the Surgery an opportunity to become involved with planning and developing services, suggesting improvements and to take an active interest in their own healthcare.  Please see the PPG Constitution for more information.

If you are interested in being involved with the Patient Participation Group, please let our receptionists at the Surgery have your contact details or contact us via the online form

Aims

  • To facilitate good relations between the Practice and patients by communicating patients’ experiences, interests and concerns and by providing feed back to the Practice on current procedures and proposed developments.
  • To contribute to the continuous improvement of services offered by the Practice and ensuring that patient information is both current and user friendly.
  • To provide practical support to the Practice, including fund raising to supplement the operation of the Practice and the Group.
  • To help patients to take more responsibility for their own health by identifying relevant information sources and agencies which are available within the National Health Service and outside it.
  • To feed back to appropriate bodies within the NHS and local authorities patients’ experiences of the health related services they have received and of their reaction to proposed changes within those services.
  • To feed back to appropriate bodies within the NHS and local authorities patients’ experiences of the health related services they have received and of their reaction to proposed changes within those services.

Constitution

Title

1. The name of the patient participation group of the Practice based at the Lonsdale Medical Centre, Tunbridge Wells, will be “The Lonsdale Patients Group”.

Constitution

2. The initial Annual General Meeting’s first business will be to adopt this constitution, subject to any amendments that may be agreed by a majority of those Members attending. Thereafter, any amendment will only be made if a written proposal is given to the Secretary not less than thirty days before the next Annual General Meeting and is subsequently approved by a majority of those attending that meeting.

Membership

3. All Patients registered with the Practice will be considered as members of the group.

Meetings

4. An Annual General Meeting will be held each calendar year, which all Members will be eligible to attend and to vote on any resolution.

5. The agenda for the AGM will include the election of Committee Members, to be determined by ballot, chosen from a list of Members who have signified their willingness to stand for election, submitted in writing to the Secretary at least ten calendar days prior to the meeting. Their submission may include a supporting statement, not more than sixty words long, of their interests, which will be included on the agenda.

6. The holding of the AGM will be advertised by notice displayed in the Surgery, on the Practice’s website and by e-mail to those Members who have agreed to the use of this as a means of communication.

7. The Committee will be comprise of not more than ten Members, of whom eight will be elected at the AGM to serve for a term of two years. However, only the four Members who receive the most votes at the initial AGM will serve for a term of two years, the other Members elected will serve only for one year in order to allow an annual rotation. The Committee will be allowed to appoint two Members selected to ensure that, as far as is practicable, all sections of the registered patients are represented or to fill any casual vacancy; each to serve until the next AGM.

8. The Committee will meet at least four times between consecutive AGMs. A quorum of four Members will be required before a formal meeting can proceed.

9. At its first meeting following an AGM, the Committee will elect a Chairman, a Vice Chairman and a Treasurer. If the Practice has been unable to provide a Secretary, the Committee will also appoint a Secretary.

10. Decisions of a Committee shall be determined by a show of hands, unless a member requires a ballot to be held. In the case of a tie the Chairmen will have a casting vote.

11. The Committee may appoint a Sub Committee to consider a particular issue and to nominate its Leader. The Sub Committee will report back to the next main Committee meeting.

12. The Committee may co-opt a non- voting Member to serve until the next the next AGM, whom it considers can provide expert knowledge or skills that are not otherwise available to the Committee.

13. The Committee may affiliate the Group to, or join, other bodies whose aims are consistent with its own.

Practice

14. The Practice will not be bound by any decision of the Group affecting the operation of the Practice, unless otherwise agreed.

15. The Practice will be able to present items for consideration by the Group and to make a submission in support, either in writing or by a representative.

Agenda

16. The Secretary will circulate an agenda to each Committee Member and to the Practice not less than seven days before each meeting. The Agenda will be drawn up by the Secretary in conjunction with the Chairman and approved by the latter.

17. Committee Members may put forward items for inclusion in the next agenda, together with a short statement describing the substance of the item, which would be reproduced in the Agenda if the item is accepted. The Practice will have a similar right.

Minutes

18. As soon as is practical after a Committee meeting, the Secretary will produce a draft set of minutes, which will be submitted to the Chairman for approval. The minutes will include, where appropriate, a synopsis of the discussion on items and record any decision taken or action required. Once approved, a copy will be provided to the Practice and will be shown on the Practice’s website. A copy of the Minutes will be sent to each Committee Member with the Agenda for the next meeting.

Finance

19. The Treasurer will be responsible for any income or expenditure and will maintain appropriate accounts. A summary of the accounts will be submitted to the Annual General Meeting for approval. A copy will be given to the Practice.

Dissolution

20. If two thirds of the Committee decide, for whatever reason, that the Group should be dissolved, a Special General Meeting will be called at which a similar majority of the Members voting will be required to confirm the dissolution. Any assets held will be returned to the Practice after all outstanding liabilities have been satisfied.

PPG Members

  • Chair - vacancy
  • Alex (Secretary)
  • Adele
  • Anne
  • Caroline
  • Dogan
  • Jo
  • Martin
  • Oliver
  • Sam
  • Timothy

Please direct any PPG queries to the Patient Services Manager

Latest PPG Meeting Minutes

  • Date: 20 April 2026
  • Time: 16:30–17:45
  • Venue: Lonsdale Medical Centre
  • Chair: RG (Patient Services Manager)
  • Minutes taken by: SG

Attendees

  • Ruth Giles – Patient Services Manager
  • SG – Receptionist
  • AW – PPG Member (attended via Microsoft Teams)
  • AL – PPG Member
  • OM – PPG Member

Apologies: DD and TH

Next meeting: 6 July 2026 at 16:30

Welcome

  • RG chaired the meeting and advised that the PPG Chair vacancy remains open.
  • OM will attend the PPG Chairs’ Forum virtual meeting as a PPG representative but does not wish to take on the Chair role at this time.

Patient Numbers

  • The practice now has 8,027 registered patients, compared with 7,854 at the previous meeting.
  • OM queried whether there is a safe ratio of patients to GPs. RG confirmed that such guidance exists and that Lonsdale Medical Centre remains within a safe ratio.

PPG Membership

  • RG asked for ideas on how to recruit additional PPG members.
  • AL queried whether the PPG is beneficial; RG confirmed that PPG feedback is extremely valuable to the practice and has influenced policy and protocols.
  • AW compiled the previous PPG newsletter, which is available within the surgery and on the practice Facebook page.
  • AW will draft the next newsletter in liaison with RG. RG confirmed that patients have been observed reading the newsletters. Action: AW / RG

Staff Changes

  • Clinical Pharmacist Hershree has left the practice.
  • Pharmacists Brian (Mondays) and Tony (Wednesdays) currently attend and are employed by the PCN.

Surgery Updates

  • Over 6,000 patients are now registered Anima users.
  • Changes to the GP contract as of 1 April 2026 mean that all patient requests are required to go through Anima for duty doctor triage until 18:30. Allocation is based on clinical need.  This is not a significant change as we already use a total triage system.
  • RG confirmed receptionists can assist patients in submitting Anima requests by telephone.
  • The Anima link on the practice website has been updated; patients no longer need to sign in and are taken directly to the request form.  This can be completed by someone on the patient’s behalf, such as a parent or carer.
  • The Practice Manager has invited PPG members to act as “test patients” to carry out usability testing of Anima. 
    • AW queried whether all categories were listed.
    • RG advised that there is a free-text option if a specific issue is not shown.
  • Louise is now a qualified GPA (General Practice Assistant) and can undertake phlebotomy and provide administrative support for Dr Hopkins. RG explained the GPA role.
  • Current waiting times: 
    • Routine GP appointments: approximately 4 weeks
    • Nurse and blood test appointments: within 1 week
  • Dr Hopkins mainly undertakes on-the-day urgent appointments, with limited routine availability, contributing to longer waits.
  • Employment of an Advanced Nurse Practitioner was discussed; RG advised there are no current plans to recruit an ANP.
  • Winter access clinics were introduced to reduce appointment pressure, with Dr Bertoni providing regular sessions. Locums continue to be used to cover gaps.

NHS App Ambassador

  • RG advised that PPG members may also become NHS App Ambassadors.
  • RG and Caroline (Receptionist) have signed up. Ambassadors receive newsletters, videos, and training related to the NHS App.  Ambassadors do not have to participate in promotional material.
  • RG offered to share information for anyone interested.
  • A suggestion was made to host a drop-in session and include online safety advice.
  • Action: RG to explore this further.

Waiting Room Television

  • AW raised concerns that the waiting room TV and NHS advertising loop can be difficult for noise-sensitive patients. The adverts are repetitive and recur within 10 minutes  
  • RG - the ticker tape display is no longer used and the TV is necessary to alert patients of their appointments, but will look into the possibility of increasing the variety of ads.
  • Action: RG to check whether a wider variety of content is available.

Advice and Guidance

  • RG explained that Advice and Guidance requests can be time-consuming for the Medical Secretary, as she has to attach files individually.  They may be converted into referrals if appropriate.
  • The Medical Secretary already submits Advice and Guidance requests and considers the service invaluable.  RG had not heard of A&G being used to limit referrals to secondary care.
  • RG confirmed there is no longer an income stream for this service.

Reasonable Adjustments and Digital Flags

  • RG confirmed that Lonsdale Medical Centre is fully compliant with reasonable adjustments and digital flags for patients with disabled patients.
  • Examples include:
    • Requires a double appointment
    • Needs to wait in a quiet area

Complaints, Compliments, and Friends & Family Test

  • 14 complaints received since the last meeting, relating to: 
    • Rejected referrals
    • Charges for threadworm treatment
    • Appointments changed to a different clinician
    • Requests from private providers not authorised
  • Patients may book a GP appointment to discuss private provider requests.

Friends & Family Test feedback is predominantly “Very Good”.

FFT data handout was circulated.

AW reported that many patients may be choosing private healthcare providers out of necessity and concern for long waiting lists to see specialists. Prescriptions by many private providers would be equivalent to those from NHS services. SG confirmed that medication requests from private providers could still be discussed with a GP and prescribed where appropriate.

IT Network Issues

As of 20 April 2026, there have been six major IT outages since December 2025.

The practice has a business continuity plan in place, which staff implement efficiently, although there are limitations on the number of laptops available.

AW suggested Integrated Care Board and Commissioning Support Unit staff redundancies may be contributing to infrastructure support issues.

RG advised that:

  • Kent Local Medical Committee has issued a letter of complaint (reported on Kent Online).
  • The Practice Manager has also written to Kent and Medway ICB.

The PPG may consider co-signing a letter if felt beneficial. Action: RG (Post meeting comment: this may not be needed as Kent Local Medical Committee have raised their concerns). 

CQC

A CQC visit is expected. All policies and protocols are in place, with events logged on Practice Index.
CQC typically provides approximately two weeks’ notice.

Flourish and Community Support

  • Flourish is holding an open day in May – flyers are in the waiting room and emailed to PPG.
  • Knit and Natter (Age UK) runs at the Amelia Centre
  • Mental health resources: 
    • AW attended Renew @ The Gatehouse as a PPG representative and described it as a welcoming, volunteer-led space with a Christian ethos.
    • Sessions run Tuesdays, 2–4pm.
  • Low-cost charity and community transport services are available in Kent; RG has compiled a list of contact numbers.
  • RG is updating carers’ information and adding it to the waiting room.

Actions: RG to promote carers’ information in the waiting room.

Any Other Business

  • RG reported an increase in SARs (Subject Access Requests) and is unsure of the reason, as information is available via the NHS App since 2023. 
    • Historic diagnoses can be coded as past problems and annotated if a patient disagrees.
    • AW reported that this often happens to women who were given mental health labels at a younger age and these have not been reviewed by mental health services in the years since.
  • Men B vaccine: AL advised private vaccination costs exceeded £200 and involved long waiting times.
  • Grumbles Book: Name to be changed to avoid potentially invalidating wording. Action: RG