Rachel Johnston - Byfield

Mark Gillett - Woodford Halse

Gill Pitt - Woodford Halse

Trudy Thornton - Woodford Halse

Moya Stewart - Upper Boddington

Sheila Hartwell - Chipping Warden

Sylvia Brookbanks - Preston Capes

John Grindlay - Eydon

Marilyn Lowe - Byfield

Please email byfieldppg@gmail.com or write to us c/o the surgery and we will discuss at our next meeting 

A PPG is a group of patients, staff and service users who meet to discuss issues that impact on the patient experience and help to improve the service.

• Providing a valuable opportunity to give patient feedback
• Patient-led discussions adding value to the Practice's quality of care
• Supporting health awareness and patient education

When you contact the surgery about an appointment you may be asked some questions about the kind of appointment you need. In some cases it may be more appropriate for you to be offered an appointment with one of these highly qualified additional health professionals rather than a GP. Of course, this frees up GP slots - don't forget you may be pleased on another day to be able to get one of those slots

Why aren't there enough appointments in advance?

Booking in advance means less urgent on the day appointments available - it does not provide more hours in the day (only a new building will do that!)  Most missed appointments (DNA - did not attend) are those booked in advance

You are not hurried out of your appointment - patient's patience is important, as you never know when you might need a bit longer at your appointment - want to know more about how you can help keep the schedule on track?  See below

There are only a certain number of patients that a GP can see in a day - and don't forget of all the behind the scences work they do in liaising with hospitals, ordering further care, renewing medication requests etc not to mention the business side of running the surgery therefore anything we can do to help keep the appointments running on time benefits us all - please make sure you are on time, if you do not arrive on time your doctor may not be able to see you, please do not come with a long list of ailments, your appointment is for 15 minutes  If is possible be clear about what is causing you concern.  For example you might bring a series of blood pressure readings if you know your blood pressure may be acting up.  Be prepared to see one of the other specialist therapeutic roles, not all ailments need a doctor, you may see a nurse, physiotherapist, podiatrist, social prescriber

Our Social Prescriber works with a variety of clients.  Helping with housing issues, debt management, liaising with other organisations such as Social Services, Citizens Advice, Councils, Social Housing etc

Long term medications should be reviewed at least once every twelve months.  NB not all appointments with the doctor will include a medication reveiw if medication changes are not relevant for the symptoms you are being seen for.  In order to free up doctors' time you may be offered a medication review by phone with one of the highly qualified Clinical Pharmacists.  This is an opportunity for you to discuss any concerns you have.  The Pharmacist will be assessing how the medications you are taking interact with each other and you can ask advice on when or how you take your medicines to maximise their efficiency.  If medications are altered in this call they will always be reviewed and agreed with your doctor before any changes are enacted.  If the Pharmacist feels you need a doctor or nurse appointment to discuss medical issues they will advise you to make an appointment.