18
PRG and medication
Background
The practice has for many years had the benefit of an active Patient Participation Group Committee (PPG) which has close links with the surgery. The PPG Committee meet approximately six times a year and provide a forum for patient views to be discussed with the practice team. As part of a government initiative we have been asked to extend the options for gathering patient views from a wider audience by creating a virtual group, called a Patient reference Group (PRG). Access to the PRG would be via the internet or telephone and would not require the members to attend formal meetings. You have enrolled in the Patient Reference Group (PRG) at Twyford Surgery and we are required to ask the views of PRG members annually. We would like you to spend a few minutes providing feedback by answering the following questions:-1. Do you know the Practice has an active Patient Participation Group Committee (PPG)
2. Do you know the purpose of the PPG?
3. Do you know who to contact in the PPG if you want to comment on patient services in the NHS or the surgery?
4. If you wished to comment on NHS or surgery services would you:-
5. Would you be prepared to become an active member of the PPG committee? (This will involve attending PPG committee meetings)?
If yes, please provide a contact name and number:
6. Primary Care Trusts (PCT’s) will be replaced by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) in April 2013 to enable GP’s to be more actively involved in the commissioning of clinical services. Do you think it is a good idea for GP’s to be more actively involved in the commissioning of clinical services?
If yes, why do you think so
7. Do you think it is a good idea for patients to become more actively involved?
If yes, why do you think so
8.Would you like to be kept up-to-date with the changes being proposed for NHS local services?
9. As a result of the replacement of Primary Care Trusts (PCT’s) by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) in April 2013 new NHS services are being commissioned. Do you have a detailed awareness of the range of changes likely to affect NHS services in the area?
10. Would you like to receive a summary of the changes and proposed structure for commissioning clinical services?
Drug Costs
It is estimated that about £300 million per annum is wasted on drugs issued to patients and either not used or thrown away. Once medication has been removed from a pharmacy by a patient it cannot be re-used, even it is returned unopened.The sum represents approximately £1 in every £25 spent on primary care and community pharmaceutical and allied products use, and 0.3% of total NHS outlays.It includes an estimated £90m worth of unused prescription medicines that are retained in individuals' homes at any one time, £110m returned to community pharmacies over the course of a year, and £50m worth of NHS supplied medicines that are disposed of unused by care homes, based on 2009 figures.Over-ordering, patients feeling better, side-effects to the medicine and death are some of the reasons why many prescriptions go unused, so some of this waste is inevitable.It is estimated that locally if £5M could be saved from the drug budget it could be used to pay for:
2000 more hip and knee replacements
400 more essential heart operations
330 more treatment courses for breast cancer
5000 more treatment courses for Alzheimer’s.
11. Do you think patients should be more actively involved in helping to manage the drug cost to the NHS?
12. What do you think that the patient group should do about addressing the wastage?