Redbourn Health Centre Meeting
Why was the meeting called?
Though the merger happened a year ago, it is only recently that the majority of patients became aware of it.
The meeting was called to deal with concerns and complaints that patients of Redbourn have raised and issues which had led to the belief amongst some of them that Redbourn had been bought out by the Lodge Group and would be closed. They would then be moved to one of the other practices within the group. Understandably, this had caused some concern.
However, the truth of the matter was that Redbourn had been run by three partners. One of them was planning to retire and the other two were both part-time. They felt unable to manage the surgery on their own and so had approached Herts Valleys CCG for help. The CCG and the surgery had then decided to work with the Lodge Group to take over the running of the practice. During the transition there had been some issues such as with IT systems, but it was this sticky patch that patients had been picking up on, rather than a deliberate winding down of services.
Who attended the meeting?
At the meeting as well as the three partners and Carolyn Braxton the Practice Manager Kathryn Magson the Chief Executive of the CCG, and Lynn Dalton, the CCG’s Director of Primary Care. It was excellent to see the CCG’s ‘top brass’ there, to listen to patients understandable frustrations, and to explain what had been going on.
What did we find?
We were there in our role of independent voice for patients having already been made aware of the issues. We were also able to offer the chance for people to talk to us if they felt uncomfortable talking directly to the practice or CCG.
What was clear was that this came about through a lack of communication with patients. Tuesday was an opportunity to listen and explain. Patients were told the reasons for why decisions were made. After that the practice representatives were able to talk through all of the changes that will hopefully lead to patient experience improving. Finally there was a Q&A, where patients were able to deal with any issues that had still not been resolved. Throughout the event it was clear that the CCG and the practice wanted to reassure patients. Though they acknowledged that communication could possibly have been done better, they wanted to explain that this is the first time a situation like this has arisen, and so they we’re tackling issues as they came up. Their priority had been to priorities keeping Redbourn Health Centre during the transition, and also patient safety.
Most gratifying was the understanding that a of lack of patient involvement within the practice hadn’t helped, and seeing the steps being taken to resolve this. Witnessing patients eager to sign up to the newly founded Patient Participation Group was an inspiring sight.
