Porth patient group appeals for new members

Leaders of a patients’ group which represents the interests of people attending a surgery in Porth are looking for new members, especially among the younger age groups.

The Patient Participation Group at Pont Newydd Medical Centre are able to raise issues with the practice and act as a link between staff and those using the services.

Group secretary Margaret Davies said that some members had recently left the group and it wanted to expand its numbers, particularly among people aged from 25 and parents of children who attend the surgery.

The group meets quarterly and take it in turns to attend the surgery on the first Monday of every month, where members are available to speak to people in the waiting room.

“Our present age group is from under 50 to over 70,” Margaret said.

“We would really like to know what issues those in the younger age groups would like to raise with us.”

Chairman of the group Graham Smith said: “We don’t really know what problems people with children may have, for example, because the members we have now don’t have smaller children.

“We want to be able to represent as wide a cross section of the patients as we can.”

The Patient Participation Group enables the practice to consult with patients on the development of services.

It also provides another mechanism for listening to the opinions and concerns of patients alongside writing to the practice, talking to the Practice Manager or putting a note in the Suggestions Box.

Dr Gwydion Wyn from the practice said: “Our Patient Participation Group (PPG) wants to raise its profile and attract new members.

“Having a strong patient representative group can have a lot of positives for practices everywhere.”

Anyone interested in joining the group can contact Margaret Davies on email at [email protected]

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