1. Title of Patient Participation Group (PPG)
The name of the PPG for this surgery will be “The Friends of Parkwood Surgery” (FPS)
2. National Association of PPGs
FPS is affiliated to the National Association of PPGs. The Practice pays the annual subscription: FPS Committee members will have access to the Members area of the site and be provided with a copy of
the newsletter.
3. Complaints
The PPG cannot act as a channel for pursuing personal complaints from patients. The Practice has a defined and published complaints procedure.
4. Purpose of PPG
The primary objective of the FPS Committee is to promote and encourage good health for patients of Parkwood Drive Surgery, and the wider community where possible.
FPS is a non-profit making organisation.
The Friends of Parkwood Surgery aims to:-
a. Provide a voice for the patients
b. Support patients to provide feedback to the FPS committee and suggestions for improvements to services, communications or facilities of FPS or Parkwood Surgery
c. Review all patient feedback and suggestions, consolidate if necessary, and present this to the Practice at our regular committee meetings which are attended by representatives of the Practice
d. Work with the Practice on initiatives to improve services and patient experience: ownership and facilitation of change will depend upon the nature of the improvement
e. Conduct surveys and research to establish what matters to patients, and what works well or not so well at the surgery; analyse and discuss findings with the Practice and engage in planning actions to implement improvement; ownership and facilitation of change will depend upon the nature of the improvement
f. Encourage patients in their own health and wellbeing by various means, e.g. advising how best to prepare for an appointment, providing information on local events and classes via leaflets or
our website, or organising or promoting events such as health talks
g. Support the organisation or development of support groups for patients and/or their carers
h. Fundraise for specific purposes that will benefit patients and Practice
For 2023-24, the primary objectives will be:
To understand in more detail how the practice operates so that FPS can better inform patients to help add clarity about the various processes and services accessed by patients, and the
clinical roles available at the practice and within the Primary Care Network (PCN)
The provision of health talks on key subjects, using a variety of methods to reach as wide an
audience as possible
To promote local classes and events to improve health and wellbeing such as Hertfordshire Health Walks
To manage social media accounts for FPS
To maintain and expand the FPS website, open to everyone
Ensure compliance with GDPR
Review our membership policy and communications approach, in conjunction with the Practice
Reaching a wider patient audience
Fund raising for items to be used in the Practice to the benefit of patients.
5. Support Groups
a. Where Patients request a support group for a given subject, FPS will support the development and set-up of the Group and its constitution/governance
b. Each Support Group will require its own Committee, which should include at least one FPS Committee member who will provide updates to FPS
c. Support Groups may use FPS in its branding and publicity
6. Fund Raising
Our primary focus is promoting health and wellbeing, but we also raise funds as a means to provision
events such as health talks, and to enable the purchase of specific items that will benefit both patients and the Practice.
Funds will always be used for the benefit of Parkwood Surgery patients and the wider community where appropriate and possible.
Fund raising is not a primary objective of FPS but where funds are raised FPS follows The Code of Fundraising Practice, encompassing these four values:-
Legal: All fundraising must meet the requirements of the law
Open: Fundraisers must be open with the public about their processes and must be willing to explain (where appropriate) if they are asked for more information
Honest: Fundraisers must act with integrity and must not mislead the public about the cause they are fundraising for or the way a donation will be used
Respectful: Fundraisers must demonstrate respect whenever they have contact with any member of the public
The Code may be found on the Fundraising Regulators website, here.
Should the FPS PPG cease to operate, all funds and assets will be donated to another PPG within our PCN, if they are providing services to patients of Parkwood Surgery; may be donated to Parkwood Surgery for a specific purpose benefitting patients; or may be donated to a charity or charities decided by the FPS Committee.
7. FPS Income and Financial Management
All funds received by FPS will be managed by the Treasurer, paid into the FPS bank account.
All expenditure will be agreed by the Committee, by majority decision if necessary and captured in committee meeting minutes for formal records.
Payments will be actioned by the Treasurer.
Payments may be made:-
a. By bank transfer using online banking. The Treasurer will set up the payment, which is then approved by the Secretary to complete the transaction
b. via the FPS Paypal account
c. by cheque. This requires the Treasurer and one other named Signatory to sign the cheque.
The Treasurer will keep records of all income and expenditure, reported each month in our committee meeting.
Since FPS is a non-profit organisation, a simple balance sheet will be produced at the end of each financial year, which for FPS will fall on 31 December.
FPS will provide a summary of expenditure, showing spend on administrative costs and spend on initiatives benefitting patients, and make this available to FPS members via our website each year.
8. Membership of FPS
a. Membership is open to all patients of the Practice
b. All patients are automatically members of FPS, there is a mechanism available for them to opt
out
c. All new patients are automatically enrolled on joining the Practice, unless they opt out
d. No membership form is required, as the Practice will manage both membership and FPS communications
e. There is no membership fee
f. Leaving the Practice or Removal of a patient from the Practice list will disqualify them from membership of FPS
g. FPS may choose to offer an option via our website to receive emails directly from FPS where the patient proactively signs up to this service, which will be operated by the FPS Committee independently of the FPS communications issued by the Practice on our behalf.
Please refer to the FPS Data Management policy, available on the FPS website, for details of how the committee handles personal information.
9. Membership Types
a. Friend of Parkwood Surgery
All patients, unless they opt out, will receive the FPS newsletter, have opportunities to contribute their views and ideas for improvements and initiatives and attend FPS events
b. Committee Member
The Committee runs the FPS Group. They represent patient views to the Practice during
monthly meetings, work with the Practice on initiatives, decide on and organise events and manage fund raising
10. FPS Committee
a. The FPS Committee operates by consent among its Committee volunteers. It is guided in all its work by its collective judgment of what, in any particular circumstance, is in the better interest of the Practice and Patients
b. The Committee shall have no fixed size limit, welcoming all volunteers to join the committee, though it is recognised that 20 committee members is optimal
c. The Committee will include, but is not limited to, the following roles, and may define other specific roles according to the skills of the volunteers and requirements of the PPG to operate:-
i. Chair Person *
ii. Deputy Chair Person *
iii. Treasurer *
iv. Secretary *
v. Communications Officer *
vi. Practice Representative
vii. GP representative (optional)
d. Key Committee Roles * will be assigned for two years, or until the individual wishes to stand down if less than two years. Roles will then be open to all Committee Members: this does not preclude the role being assigned to the same person for a consecutive term(s)
e. At the Committee’s discretion, non-patient members may be permitted to join the committee
f. The Committee will select its Chair Person, Deputy Chair Person, Secretary, Treasurer and Communications Officer by majority agreement
11. Period of Office for FPS Committee Members
a. Committee members are free to remain members of the Committee for as long as they wish
b. Assignment of Key Roles will be reviewed at least every two years
c. Any Committee Member may resign at any time, for practical reasons a minimum of 1 month’s notice is required
d. Any patient may nominate themselves to join the committee
e. The Committee will be responsible for filling Key Committee Roles.
12. FPS Committee Responsibilities
The Committee consists of the FPS Committee Members and any other person the Committee agrees to appoint, as needed.
The Committee shall manage the affairs of FPS.
In the absence of the Chair Person, the Deputy Chair will lead the meeting.
Committee meetings shall be held at an agreed frequency, not less than quarterly.
13. FPS Committee Acceptable Behaviours
Committee members are always “on duty”, they represent the committee even when outside of the practice or FPS setting.
Committee members will:-
a. comply with the law, and legislation applicable to the running of the patient participation group
b. behave in a positive, collaborative, helpful and respectful manner at all times
c. be objective when dealing with comments or observations from patients or practice – avoid making assumptions about intent, cause or fault
d. seek clarifications and views from all stakeholders
e. offer constructive suggestions for improvements or resolutions
f. communicate with respect at all times, in a professional manner observing the necessary courtesy and confidentiality especially when using electronic communications
g. avoid the use of language that is abusive, defamatory, discriminative, offensive, malicious, or insulting, or presented in a manner intended to be intimidating, insulting, humiliating or injurious, in all communications both written and verbal.
14. Minutes
Minutes of committee meetings shall be kept by the Secretary.
Minutes will capture discussion points and record decisions made.
Minutes will be shared with Committee Members, signed off and stored for future reference.
Minutes will be published on the FPS website, from January 2023, once minutes have been formally approved.
15. Voting
Decisions at any FPS meeting shall be decided by a simple majority of those committee members present at the meeting, subject to having sufficient members present – our quorum must consist of the Chair or Deputy Chair, plus a minimum of 50% of the remaining committee members.
No member shall exercise more than one vote. In case of equality of votes, the Chair shall have the casting vote.
16. Dissolution
If the committee decides at any time that on any grounds it is necessary to dissolve the PPG it shall call a Special General Meeting, and dissolution may be confirmed by agreement of the Committee.
17. Alterations to the Terms of Reference
Any proposal to alter this document must be presented to the Committee for consideration, and will be decided by a simple majority of those voting at the meeting.
In the absence of change requests, this document will be reviewed annually.
18. Adoption of these Terms of Reference
This Terms of Reference was agreed and adopted by the FPS Committee at the meeting 17 July 2023.