MP for Somerton & Frome, David Warburton recently met with members from the Patients Participation Group (PPG) at the Frome Medical Practice.
The MP was invited to attend the meeting by the PPG chair, Paul Lewis. Also in attendance to speak to the MP were representatives of both management and staff at the practice as well as those from the Friends of Frome Hospital.
“I know that David Warburton has already visited the practice and met up with the partners,” said Paul. “However, particularly at a time when everyone understands the real pressures that the NHS is under, we thought that it was important that our MP hears the perspective from the patients’ point of view. We were delighted that David accepted our invitation and agreed to come along and meet up with us.”
The PPG plays a key role in supporting patients and giving advice and feedback to the partners of the practice. The group at the Frome Medical Practice has been in existence for nearly 7 years and also plays a very active role in helping to organise health promotion events. The group was also one of the first to be formed in Somerset and to send members to key local and regional health meetings.
At the meeting the MP faced a series of searching questions, ranging from the impact of recruitment following the Brexit vote to the problems of trying to keep NHS services local and relevant, in particular the out of hours service.
David Warburton MP said, “I really am hugely grateful to the Patients Participation Group, the Friends of Frome Hospital, staff and management of Frome Medical Practice for meeting me to discuss the challenges we face in Frome.
“It’s a very complicated picture right now and so it is crucial that I learn from the experiences of those on the front line and pass their thoughts and ideas on.
“It was terrific to talk to the group and I now have quite a list of issues which I’m keen to be able to help with.
“I certainly hope, too, that we’ll keep this dialogue up regularly so that I can make sure they get the support they need for everything they do for us here in Frome. It was great to talk!’
“This was a great opportunity for our MP to specifically hear the views of the patients themselves,” added Paul Lewis. “The meet was extremely informative. We discussed the difficulties in the recruitment of GPs and the reduction in funding, with the inevitable impact that this has on the patients of the Frome Medical Practice and indeed on other GP practices.
“I have no doubt that David Warburton listened carefully to what we were saying and came away from the meeting with a far better understanding of the challenges being faced by everyone concerned in the delivery of primary medical care.”
