Press release - 5th January 2012

Would you like to get involved in the local NHS?

GP practices in Brighton and Hove are setting up ‘patient participation groups’ to encourage patients to have their say and help make decisions about how the practices are run.  This supports a local drive to make sure that those using local health services are able to have their say and have the opportunity to be involved in decision making.

Xavier Nalletamby, chair of the Brighton and Hove clinical commissioning group said:

"The NHS is a service that belongs to all of us - from our family GP, to our local hospital, to the district nurse who visits us in our home. We need to make sure that our NHS does all of that well, and we need the help of local people, through local organisations like patient participation groups, to help us do this. It can make a real difference."

Patients who join their surgery’s patient participation group may become involved in a range of ways, from helping to conduct surveys, being involved in changes to the building, reviewing systems in the surgery, organising health talks for patients and reviewing information provided by the surgery.  Some groups may meet in the surgery, and others may communicate by email.

The Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group, which is to take full responsibility for commissioning healthcare for Brighton and Hove residents in 2013, is supporting the development of patient participation groups throughout the city.

“We really want to hear from a cross section of patients and hope that some of the patients who are involved with their surgery will also be interested in local healthcare on a wider basis.  We want to make sure that patients and carers are at the centre of all our decisions about local healthcare.” Jane Lodge, Brighton and Hove Engagement Lead.

If you are interested in joining your GP surgery’s patient participation group, ask your GP or the Practice Manager at the surgery. They will be able to tell you how it works in your surgery.

If you are interested in being involved in shaping local healthcare in a wider context, please contact Jane Lodge, Engagement Lead for the Clinical Commissioning Group - jane.lodge@bhcpct.nhs.uk, 01273 574649.