Mapping Patient Participations Groups in East Sussex
Download (PDF 236.73 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch East Sussex undertook a project to see how Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) were operating in GP surgeries across the county. Between May and July 2025, five Healthwatch volunteers reviewed public/patient facing information across 55 GP practices in East Sussex using practice websites and follow-up requests.
Key findings
The mapping exercise has identified there is currently a diverse range of information on PPGs across the websites of GP practices in East Sussex. Whilst most GP websites have information about PPGs, this varies significantly in quality, clarity and accuracy.
Some GP websites provide clear and comprehensive information on what a PPG is, the activities of their PPG, how to contact it and how to get involved. However, others provide much less consistent content and for some practices Healthwatch found no PPG content at all.
The presence of PPG related content on most websites is reassuring, however, from this information alone it is challenging to identify where PPGs are operating and how effectively. Concerningly and surprisingly, when Healthwatch contacted some GP practices seeking additional information about their PPG, some staff were unable to respond directly to their enquiries, which suggests awareness of PPGs and their functions may be improved in practice teams.
If, as outlined in the recently published NHS Long-term Plan, there is an aspiration to increase patient experience as a means of continually assessing performance, then PPGs remain well placed to contribute to and support positive service development. However, to do so, PPGs may require a greater profile to strengthen awareness of them and enable them to recruit participants, operate sustainably, relay feedback and provide links with local people.
Whilst information and communication is only one part of this process, the findings suggest there is work to do to create a more consistent approach in how PPGs and their activity are presented to patients and the public on GP practice websites.