About the Patient Participation Group

Latest Meeting Summary

• Thursday 23 April, 6:30pm to 8:00pm

We recently held a Patient Participation Group (PPG) meeting attended by GP partners Dr Toyne and Dr Gillingwater, Sandra Connolly (Managing Partner), Hugo (Reception Supervisor), and Katie (Healthcare Assistant), along with 10 patient representatives.

We were also joined by:

• Jack Grant (QuantumLoopAI), supporting the development of EMMA, our digital triage and reception system
• Malcolm Brydon (Lambeth ICB Estates Team), who discussed upcoming building developments

EMMA digital triage and reception system

A key focus of the meeting was EMMA, a digital assistant designed to support our reception team.

We explained that EMMA is being introduced to:

• reduce pressure on reception staff
• allow staff to focus more on supporting patients
• ensure no patient requests are missed
• provide equal access via phone or online

 Previously, around 8–9 calls out of every 100 were missed at busy times due to high demand. EMMA helps prevent this by directing both phone calls and online requests into the same GP triage system.

The aim is to:

• improve access and response times
• create a more sustainable workload for staff

We acknowledged that we are early adopters, and that EMMA is still being developed. Jack shared how the system is continuing to improve, and we thanked patients for their patience during this period.

Patient feedback

• Around 4 out of 10 patients at the meeting had used EMMA
• One patient reported some initial difficulty
• Others described a generally positive experience

This feedback is extremely valuable and will continue to shape how the system develops.

Practice premises developments

Malcolm from the ICB Estates Team outlined recent and upcoming changes to the building.

Since the relocation of the other practice, we now have full use of the site. This has allowed us to:

• more than double our consultation space
• recruit additional staff
• expand the services we offer

We have also secured NHS funding for major refurbishment works, including:

• a new reception area and improved waiting room
• installation of a lift for full accessibility
• an additional consultation room
• new patient toilets
• improved staff facilities

The practice will remain open during the works. These improvements will bring significant benefits for both patients and staff.

Community events and patient engagement

We shared plans to increase engagement with patients and the local community.

Upcoming events include:

an HIV awareness drop-in session
a session hosted with Safer Youth (Lambeth Contextual Safeguarding Service) for parents and carers, focusing on keeping young people safe both online and in the community

Questions and discussion

The meeting included an open discussion covering recent changes at the practice.

We discussed the appointment system introduced in June 2025, which has helped:

• improve response times
• increase access to care

Patients shared very positive feedback, including:

• long-standing patients describing their experience over many years
• praise for the practice team, access to appointments, and quality of care

The team thanked patients for their kind feedback, which is highly valued by staff.

Looking ahead

With increased capacity, the practice able to take on many more patients.

PPG members were encouraged to recommend the practice to others in the local community.

We also discussed the expected CQC inspection later this year. Patients were very supportive, and several offered to attend on the day to share their experiences with inspectors.

It was agreed that future PPG meetings will take place every 3–4 months.

We would like to thank all patients who attended and contributed.

PPG feedback plays a vital role in helping us shape and improve our services.