Patient participation and changes to primary care
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Healthwatch Warwickshire undertook research into patient participation and changes to primary care. Following their Standing Conference in May (which aimed to galvanise patient voice by bringing patient representatives together) Healthwatch Warwickshire set out to discover more about whether individuals were aware of their Patient Participations Groups (PPGs), how Primary Care Networks (PCNs) were being introduced, and how any changes should be communicated.
From July-September Healthwatch Warwickshire held multiple sessions across two outpatient departments (Rugby St. Cross and George Eliot Hospital), talking to the public about changes to GP services (PCNs) and how they receive communications from primary care. They promoted this survey to other groups and online, in total hearing from 905 people.
Healthwatch Warwickshire found that most people (90%) are not members of their PPG. It also found that people thought e-mail (41%) and letters (33%) are the best way of GPs telling them about changes that are happening. Moreover, most people would not mind going to another practice for care (61%) as long as it was not too far away.
Healthwatch Warwickshire will promote these findings with various organisations, including those who pay for delivery of services and those who hold the system to account, in order to ensure services are meeting people’s needs by listening, and reacting, to them.