Patient Participation Group

 

Rutland House and Queens Avenue Practices combined their two Patient Participation Groups (PPG) in 2021, following the merger of the two practices.

Our Patient Participation Group (PPG) meets to provide a forum for discussion about the practice.

patient group

What is the Patient Participation Group (PPG)?

The Patient Participation Group is a partnership between patients and the practice. The Patient Participation Group brings together patients who want to work with us to keep improving the service we offer.  We would like to know how you see our surgery and staff and your ideas for the development of the service.  We want to get the widest range of views so encourage everyone to sign up.

Every patient who wishes it can have a voice through the Patient Participation Group. Some members want to attend meetings. Some may just want to receive news and notifications of events. There will be an open meeting for all patients once a year which may be online. There may be opportunities to join working groups or events may be organised on subjects that are of special interest to you.

What does the PPG do?

The members of the current two Patient Participation Group meet periodically with the doctors and other practice staff to:

  • Exchange information
  • Provide feedback from patients
  • Suggest changes to aspects of the service that patients may have found difficult
  • Comment on practice changes and plans

Some changes that have been made as a result of Patient Participation Group suggestions include:

  • Improvements in booking appointments at Rutland House Surgery
  • Reduction in delays to online repeat prescriptions at QA

Both Patient Participation Group's have had working groups to pursue issues in greater depth, one on issues connected with the merger at Rutland House Surgery and one on improved information for patients on the practice website at QA.

Other local Patient Participation Group's have developed voluntary activities for practice patients another option is health promotion and the encouragement of self-care where appropriate. Rutland House Surgery will have a new Patient Participation Group so this is an exciting time to get involved and set priorities for the patient group.

Can anyone join the Patient Participation Group?

Any patient of the practices is eligible to join the Patient Participation Group. All you need to do is follow the link below to complete the patient participation group application form online or ask for a form at your practice reception desk. 

Join the Patient Participation Group

Getting Your View

The group would like to contact patients on occasion by email and/or text so that they can obtain the views of the widest group of patients possible. We would like to obtain your email address and mobile phone number to do this. Please complete the Patient Contact Form above to provide your consent for this.

What support is available for new Patient Participation Group members?

Healthwatch Haringey offers resources to help Patient Participation Group members, including access to training, a Patient Participation Group toolkit and network meetings.

Find out more on the Healthwatch Haringey website

Latest Meeting Minutes - 05.08.2025

* It was great to welcome new member, Ben Paul, and Diane Doody, the social prescriber for 
RHS and Muswell Hill GP Practice. [I've attached two interesting docs that Diane has sent me -
they really are worth a read]


* RE reported on some info from Tanya Murat at Haringey Healthwatch


1) National and local Healthwatch are being abolished following recommendations of the Dash 
review into patient safety


2) Our commissioning body, North Central London Integrated Commissioning Board covering 
Haringey, Enfield, Barnet, Camden and Islington, is merging with NW London ICB. The new 
body will commission health services for 4.5m patients. Concern about where and how the 
patient voice will be heard


3) We've been concerned about patient associates. Our practice has always said it would not 
employ them. Recently-published Leng review has made a number of recommendations 
including renaming them physician assistants to make it clear that they are not doctors.
4) 2025 GP survey has been published (Link here https://www.gppatient.co.uk/patientexperience/results?code=F85688) NB Very small sample


* Useful discussion with Diane Doody which helped to clarify our understanding of our 
respective roles. PPG members mainly interested in the practice's admin policies. The 
website is now much easier to navigate and problems with repeat prescriptions are not coming 
up so often. Telephone answering is still a major problem. DT reported waiting 15 mins for a 
response during the day although MJ has installed a callback option after a 3 min 
wait. Members agreed to test the 3 min limit. Not everyone likes the triage system. Possible 
that tel answering delays are due to people needing a lot of help with completing the form. BP 
said the website needed better signalling to the triage form and a step-by-step guide to 
completing the form. He offered to draft a cartoon-style guide for a report to the practice 
partners. 


There was a discussion about whether there was need for social activities linked to the 
practice. DD felt that patients needed to be supported to use the many resources available in 
the community. RE offered to investigate the two walkng groups that meet at the bottom of 
Muswell Hill.


*Date of meeting with partners still to be confirmed - provisional date 10 
September. Meeting frustrated by delays in getting confirmation. An approach directly to the 
doctors discussed. [Confusing meeting outcome. Think we should ask MJ to confirm the 10th 
when he gets back. If no solution, we should find way to get a date from doctors.

Latest Meeting Minutes - 05.08.2025

Patient Participation Group (PPG) Meeting Summary

Rutland House Surgery
Date: 21st  January 2026 at 5 PM
Location: Rutland House Surgery – QA Branch
Chair: Rose (stepping down)
Attendees: MJ (Practice Manager), Ben, David, Michael, Marj and Hilary.

Apologies: Dr Davies

 

  1. Welcome & Introductions

  • Rose welcomed everyone to an informal meeting

  • There was uncertainty regarding the most recent set of minutes; notes from the 5 August meeting had been circulated but may not have been the last session.

2. Updates on Previous Actions

Website & Online Access

  • Ben had developed a cartoon-style navigation guide to encourage greater use of the online triage form

  • Ben is willing to review and update the guide further.

 

Technology & Communications

  • General agreement that improved clarity and navigation on digital platforms continues to benefit patients.

 

3. Chair’s Announcement

Rose formally announced her intention to step down as Rutland House PPG Chair after around five years in the role (having also chaired Queen’s Avenue PPG previously for several years).

Members acknowledged and thanked Rose for her significant contribution and leadership.

 

4. Future Leadership of the PPG

  • Ben was proposed as a potential new Chair.

  • Ben is open to further discussion but noted several pressures:

    • Heavily involved in school and community roles

    • Significant childcare responsibilities

  • Next step: A separate discussion will be arranged between Dr Davies, Rose, MJ, and Ben to explore options.  Rose felt it important to involve one of the partners to give a clear steer on the future direction of the PPG

 

 

5. Review of PPG Purpose & Terms of Reference

The group revisited the PPG’s objectives, which include:

  • Providing patient feedback on services

  • Identifying ideas for improvement

  • being consulted on service developments

  • Supporting health promotion and self-care

  • facilitating links with community organisations (e.g., Healthwatch Haringey)

  • Encouraging volunteering to support the work of the practice

 

Note: Several members did not remember previously seeing the Terms of Reference.
Action: Re‑circulate to all members.

 

6. Practice Updates (from MJ)

6.1 Appointment System & Phone Access

  • Some patients reported long waits on the phone (10+ minutes).

  • MJ summarised current performance:

    • Data shows most calls answered within 3 minutes, though some delays do occur.

    • The telephone system only offers a callback option once four callers are ahead in the queue.  It is not possible to change this to a capped waiting time as the PPG proposed

    • Calls can be long because receptionists support patients in completing triage questions over the phone.

6.2 Online Medical Triage Forms

  • Available 8:00am–6:30pm.

  • Around 1,000 clinical triage forms submitted each week.

  • All clinical triage is carried out by doctors, not pharmacists or admin staff.

  • Many submissions do not require appointments and can be resolved through signposting or admin processes.

Patient expectations clarified:

  • Responses are provided within two working days.

  • Appointments may be offered the same day, within two days, or within two weeks depending on clinical need.

6.3 GP Capacity

  • Current workforce: 10 part-‑time doctors  ( 4.8 full-time equivalent FTE GPs}.

  • Plans to recruit one additional salaried GP to:

    • Improve continuity

    • Reduce reliance on locums

    • Better meet demand  {6  FTE doctors}  [Timescale?]

6.4 Long‑Term Condition (LTC) Reviews

  • LTC reviews cover conditions such as diabetes, asthma, hypertension, heart disease, and learning disabilities.

  • Reviews may occur:

    • Face-to-face

    • By phone

    • During medication reviews

  • Action: MJ to provide a clear list of all LTCs requiring annual review.

 

7. Patient Engagement & Growing the PPG

There is a shared need to:

  • Expand PPG membership

  • Improve demographic representation

Previous methods yielded modest engagement (e.g., 60 responses from 800 survey texts).

Next steps {when new chair is in place}:

  • Reactivate the PPG email address

  • Send text invitations to approximately 7,000 patients

  • Consider including a short survey link

  • Explore alternative meeting formats:

    • Larger open meetings

    • Online attendance (Zoom/Teams)

    • A small “core group” supported by a wider email-based membership

 

8. Practice & Community Activities

  • A men’s health webinar previously attracted ~70 attendees.

  • A recent joint hypertension webinar with Muswell Hill Practice drew ~200 participants.

Plan going forward:

  • Deliver three Primary Care Network-wide health webinars per year, involving:

    • Rutland House

    • Muswell Hill Practice

    • Vale Practice

    • Highgate Group Practice

 

9. Rutland House Development Plans

  • No significant update at present.

  • Options still under review:

    • Redevelopment of the existing 40 Colney Hatch Lane site

    • Potential relocation if a suitable larger property becomes available

  • External property specialists are supporting the search.

 

10. Acknowledgements & Closing

  • The group expressed appreciation for Rose’s leadership and service.

  • Agreed actions:

    • Arrange a follow-up meeting between Dr Davies, Rose, Ben, and MJ

    • Continue work on expanding and restructuring the PPG

 

 

Meeting concluded.