Patient Participation Group

The Sonning Common Health Centre Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a group of patients and GP practice staff who meet to discuss practice issues and patient experience to help improve the service, to provide practical support to the health centre team when required and to organise health events of interest to our local community.

We aim to be representative and welcome your views, feedback and ideas for improvements to the healthcare services provided. The PPG patient members can not provide any medical advice, discuss medical issues or concerns about treatment. These should all be addressed directly with the Health Centre staff.

To contact the PPG email schcppg@gmail.com or fill in a PPG Contact form available from the Health Centre reception.

PPG events 

The PPG is committed to organising health focused events. The most recent of these was an online presentation in July when Dr Deepak Ravindran, a leading specialist in Pain Management, gave a very informative talk about managing chronic pain and long Covid. An excellent talk by the author of “The Pain Free Mindset – 7 Steps to Taking Control and Overcoming Chronic Pain”

Earlier this year two of our PPG members ran a very informative and well received presentation on wellbeing, particularly reflecting the challenges of living in a Covid world with limited social contact. Before Covid, last year the PPG ran a successful eye health event presented by the Frost Borneo senior opticians to 29 attendees.

Details of planned future events including online webinars will be posted here and promoted on social media and on posters around the village and in the Health Centre.

PPG other activities 

The PPG team is always keen to provide practical support to the Heath Centre. Recent activities include marshalling attendees for the flu and Covid vaccination clinics, undertaking a car park survey to monitor misuse and suggest improvements, participation in deciding the priorities of gift fund spending, resulting in new automatic doors and an information screen in the waiting room.

PPG: who are we? 

It is a requirement of NHS England for all GP practices to have a PPG and for this to be representative of the practice population and we believe that the Sonning Common Health Centre PPG reflects this with a wide variety of skills, work experience and ages. The Sonning Common PPG also works with other PPGs within our PCN (Primary Care Network) to share information between local practices and hold joint health information events.

Our current PPG members are all long term patients of the Sonning Common Health Centre who recognise how lucky we are to have an excellent local healthcare team and want to support them in practical ways to help improve the patient experience. The PPG team is:

Vicky (Chair): a physiotherapist who worked in the NHS for 9 years before starting her own practice in the private health care sector.

David: an IT industry entrepreneur now retired having run his own and other people’s companies in the technology sector.

Douglas: a retired secondary school teacher and Head of English Faculty previously Vice-Chair of Governors at Chiltern Edge School and Chairman of Sonning Common Parish Council and currently Chairman of two local authorities’ School Appeals Panels.

Joan: recently retired from a career in the public sector and our PPG secretary.

Margaret: a retired nurse who always worked for the NHS, the last 30 years being in the community and in GP practices in Berkshire and South Oxfordshire with a speciality in providing diabetes education to nurses and also to people who have the condition.

Marlena: worked for 16 years in adult social care planning and commissioning services for people with disabilities, older people and carers and now a life coach helping people overcome stress, anxiety and life challenges. Has proudly completed four wheelchair half marathons.

Peter: a business school graduate, serial entrepreneur, assisting start ups in health, energy and cyber defence sectors.

Sally: a retired social worker with a particular interest in care for people with dementia.  Has worked in health and social care where she was the lead for the prevention of hospital admissions.

If you are interested in learning more about the role of a PPG member contact our chair, Vicky, by email: schcppg@gmail.com

Our PPG Meetings

Minutes of our meetings are available to any patient of the Sonning Common Health Centre. Here are links to this year’s meeting minutes and to the AGM minutes, held in September 2020:

Minutes of PPG meetings:

PPG meeting 17.12.19

PPG meeting 21.01.20

PPG meeting 25.02.20

PPG meeting 25.08.20

PPG meeting 06.10.20

PPG meeting 15.12.20

PPG Minutes of meeting 9 March 2021

PPG Minutes of meeting 20 April 2021

PPG Minutes of meeting 23 June 2021

PPG Annual General meeting (AGM): the AGM took place on Wednesday 30th September 2020. It was held virtually via Microsoft Teams. Please click this link to read the AGM minutes: PPG AGM minutes.

Further Information

To learn more about your Sonning Common Health Centre PPG, to comment on any of our activities, to suggest subjects for future events or if you have any questions or ideas – please email schcppg@gmail.com or click on the link below to leave a message via the Health Centre’s contact us form.

click here