Patient Participation

The practices of the Three Lochs Medical strategic alliance work closely with patients, and involve them early on in any major challenges, changes, or projects that happen in the medical practice.  This way of working is called co-production, or "bringing patients in on the ground floor"*, and is seen as the best way to develop services: with patients as partners, and not just for patients as service users.  It goes beyond simple patient participation and engagement.

Innovating solutions to complex problems in healthcare requires an "adaptive approach".  Adaptive solutions require change, but it is important to make sure that we don't make changes which throw out all the good things that are already in place.  Patients in communities are central to making sure that does not happen.  Patients can tell us what is important to them, so we protect those things while making changes and improvements.  Prof. Ron Heifetz from Harvard Kennedy Leadership School explains this well in this video.

Strachur Medical Practice set up Cowal's first Patient Participation Group in 2012 after Robbie Coull, the principal GP at Strachur Medical Practice, set up the first Patient Participation Group in Prince Edward Island, Canada in 2009. 

Robbie, who is currently writing a book about this subject called Medicine Without Answers, says "We are delighted that the patients of Furnace and Inveraray Surgery have started the process of setting up a Patient Participation Group for the area. There are lots of benefits to patients and the practice to working closely together, and the success of our Patient Participation Group has been the backbone of our success as a practice."

The Patient Participation Group (PPG) are independent from the practice, and represent the patients in the community.  The Strachur PPG along with our Practice Nurse have set up a Community Hub which provide services in the Strachur Village Hall such as fitness and balance training from an Otago trained instructor, a short walking group, a choir, language learning, lunch once per week, and has it's own psychotherapy service for patients to access. The Hub is mainly aimed at the over 60s but has added a separate group for younger patients. They won a national NHS award in 2020 for their work.

You can visit the PPG page on the Strachur Medical Practice website for more information.

If you would like to be involved in a Patient Participation Group in your area, then contact us using the contact form on this page.  

 

 

* Don Berwick, M.D., former administrator of Medicare in the US, carried out the 2013 NHS England review into patient safety, and Visiting International Fellow of the Kings Fund.