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Patient Participation Group Newsletter
Issue 1 September 2025
Introduction
Welcome to the first Two Rivers Patient Participation Group (PPG) newsletter. The aim of our newsletter is to keep patients informed about our activities and provide practice updates and relevant health information, while also encouraging your engagement and feedback. We are aiming to publish a newsletter four times a year and we hope that it will be useful for everyone.
The PPG has been in existence for many years, beginning in both the Lattice Barn and the Woodbridge Road surgeries and amalgamating at Two Rivers when the new building was commissioned in 2016. In the early years, the PPGs ran several health events for patients, however, after Covid it became less effective, and we are only now rebuilding, so that once again we can support the voice of patients. To become a member of the PPG you only need to be a patient at Two Rivers and have an interest in the surgery. We currently have a full quota of 12 members but if you are interested in joining us please complete the registration form on the Two Rivers website.
You do not need to be a PPG member to contribute, as we welcome thoughts and ideas from all patients, so if you have any suggestions for improvements at the surgery then please contact us so that we can bring your thoughts and ideas to the notice of the practice.
The Practice
There are now almost 30,000 patients registered at the surgery who are cared for by 61 medical staff which includes 4 partners, 10 salaried GPs, 13 GP registrars, 7 clinical practitioners, 1 physician associate, 6 advanced nurse practitioners, 13 nursing staff, 2 paramedics and 5 pharmacists. These are supported by 16 care navigators and 31 members of staff covering management, co-ordination and administration roles.
AccuRx appointment System
A new system to book appointments was implemented in May this year. Since introduction there has been a reduction in the queueing time on the phone. The new system works best if patients complete a request for an appointment online, but if you do not have online access then please phone and reception will complete the form with you. You will then be phoned back to arrange an appropriate appointment.
Many of you have complained about the amount of time spent queueing on the phone. However, the new queueing system gives an option for a call back. You can then ring off and a care navigator will call you when you reach the front of the queue. To indicate how successful the new phone system is already, in January there were 10,506 calls made to the surgery, with an average wait time of 30 minutes. In June, shortly after the new system was implemented, the number had reduced to 5,057 calls with an average wait time of 7 minutes. This reflects a positive shift for both patients and care navigators.
PPG awareness week
If you had need to visit the surgery in the first week of June, you may well have seen one of our members chatting to patients and observing the day to day running of the practice. The patients we saw provided us with useful feedback and helpful suggestions which we have presented to the surgery, with some already actioned. The care navigators will always support patients who are unable to complete appointment requests online. A paper form has been produced for patients to complete for reception to enter onto the appointment system.
A back-up member of staff is now available if a queue begins to build, and if a patient wishes to speak privately a room is available for this purpose. The surgery is also currently looking at the layout of the waiting area to ensure a free flow through and to provide seats in the queuing area for patients who need seating to use while waiting. Other points raised are being reviewed.
The awareness week was a worthwhile exercise that helped to raise the PPG’s visibility within the practice.
CQC Findings
The recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in May resulted in an overall rating of Requires Improvement. The full report is available to view on the CQC website. Please be assured that work is already underway, and actions have been taken promptly in preparation for a follow-up visit in January. This rating does not reflect the hard work and dedication of the surgery team. In fact, the report itself was very positive, recognising many areas of good practice and the excellent care provided to patients.
Reducing Medication Waste
Nationwide there is around £300 million worth of medication that is not required but is issued each year with around £4 million wasted in Suffolk alone. There is a drive to reduce this which we can all be involved in. It is so easy when re-ordering medication to just tick all the boxes on your form which could include items that you no longer require, so by simply selecting the items that are required you will be helping to reduce the waste. Unfortunately, once the medication leaves the pharmacy it cannot be returned for reuse but must handed in at a pharmacy to be destroyed. It is therefore essential that we only order the medication that we need.
Compassionate Companions
Compassionate Companions are volunteers who provide kind and compassionate communication with elderly patients and those with life-limiting illnesses. They go through training and attend regular online discussion sessions to ensure that they can provide the support to patients in need of assistance at this time. They will talk about care wishes of the patient around resuscitation, hospital admission, and other wishes for their care and offer general support and signposting to other services.
They also help to complete the ReSPECT form which indicates patients’ wishes should they become unable to make decisions for themselves. The volunteer will stay in touch as long as is needed, often visiting patients at home to offer wellbeing support. Anyone can refer to the service and should you wish to contact them they can be reached by phone on 07443 020291.
Flu Clinics
The flu vaccination is for those over 65 years of age and those who are eligible for health reasons. These will be running in October, giving patients the opportunity to arrange a vaccination at the surgery. The clinic dates are: - Saturday 4th October, Saturday 11th October and Saturday 18th October If eligible you will be contacted by the surgery to book. Like in previous years the appointments will be two-minutes and so you should not have to wait long, however if traveling by car please enter your vehicle registration at reception just in case of delays. These appointments are for flu only as COVID boosters are only for those over 75 and will be arranged separately.
Published: Sep 17, 2025