Leatside Surgery

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LPG Terms of Reference

Leatside Patient Group

1. The Group shall be called the Leatside Patient Group. It may be affiliated to other
organisations with similar charitable objectives.
Aims of the Leatside Patient Group (LPG)
2. To represent the patients of Leatside practice and work in partnership with GPs and
practice staff to improve services for patients.
3. To facilitate good relations between the GP practice (referred to as “the practice”
throughout this document) and patients by communicating patient experience,
interests and concerns and providing feedback to the practice on current procedures
and proposed new developments.
4. To work collaboratively and positively with the practice to improve services and
facilities for patients and to act as a sounding board for practice staff on issues
affecting patients.
5. To build two-way communication and co-operation between the practice and
patients, other individuals and organisations in healthcare, and the wider
community to the mutual benefit of all.
6. To act as a representative group to support the practice and influence local provision
of health and social care.
7. LPG Structure & Membership
• Membership of the LPG shall be open to all registered patients and their
carers
• Membership will reflect the patient profile and be widely representative and
inclusive of different genders, ethnicities, ages and abilities as required in the
GP contract
• All registered patients of the practice are automatically members of the
Leatside LPG. Removal of a patient from the patient list will mean that he/she
will cease to be a member of the LPG.
• The LPG will be non-political and non-sectarian, will always respect diversity
and exemplify its commitment to the principles contained within the Equality
Act.

LPG Committee

8. The Leatside LPG shall elect officers and committee from among the
members of the LPG, at the Annual General Meeting, and they will be known as the
Leatside Patient Group (LPG) management committee. These will include Chair,
Vice Chair and Secretary who shall act as minutes taker. Other posts may be created
by the Annual General Meeting on a proposal from the LPG. All officers shall serve
for a period of twelve months.
9. The LPG will elect ten members at the Annual General Meeting to serve on the LPG
commitee. As far as possible the ten members will be representative of the
demographics of the patients as a whole and will aim to reflect diversity in age,
gender, ability and orientation. Members of the management commitee shall be re-elected annually.
10. The LPG management commitee shall normally not exceed [ten] members. Between
the Annual General Meetings, the LPG may co-opt individual members if needed to
ensure that the LPG is fully representative of the patient community.
11. The LPG and the LPG committee shall both hold regular meetings. To maintain an
active LPG, any LPG committee member who fails to attend three consecutive LPG
committee meetings may be deemed to have resigned.
12. The LPG committee will extend an open invitation to practice staff to attend its
meetings as agreed with the practice manager.
Virtual LPG
13. If necessary, the LPG committee may meet virtually.
Management of the LPG
14. The LPG shall meet no fewer than two times a year, but the LPG committee will
normally meet every two months. The LPG committee may meet more regularly if
circumstances demand it.
15. In the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair, those members who are present shall
elect a temporary Chair from among the attendees.
16. Apologies for absence should be sent to the Secretary or Chair prior to the meeting.
In the absence of any apologies or available explanation, any member recorded as
not attending three consecutive meetings will be deemed to have resigned from the
LPG commitee.
17. Decisions shall be reached normally by consensus among those present. However, if
a vote is required, decisions shall be made by simple majority of those present and
voting. In the event of a tied outcome, the Chair may exercise a casting vote.
18. Minutes of the meetings of the LPG and LPG committee shall be produced by the
Secretary and circulated within two weeks of the meeting to members of the LPG
committee via email for comment. Agreed minutes will be formally accepted at the
next meeting. Once approved hard copies will be displayed and available in the
practice and published on the web site.

Activities of the LPG

The LPG shall:
19. Produce a quarterly newsletter containing practice news and other useful
information for patients. The newsletter shall be distributed, where possible, by
email to those patients who have provided their email address. Other methods shall
be used, as appropriate, to deliver the newsletter to as many patients as possible.
Hard copies will also be available in the surgery.
20. Regularly, and with the agreement of Surgery staff, obtain the views of patients who
have attended the practice about the services delivered by the practice and obtain
feedback from its registered patients about those services.
21. Review any feedback received about the services delivered by the practice with
practice staff and relevant members of the LPG with a view to agreeing the
improvements (if any) to be made to those services.
22. Contribute views on suggested changes and consult on service development and
provision where appropriate, expressing opinions on these matters on behalf of
patients. However, the final decisions on service delivery rest with the practice.
23. Act as a sounding board to provide feedback on patients’ needs, concerns and
interests and challenge the practice constructively whenever necessary and help
patients to understand the practice viewpoint.
24. Communicate information which may promote or assist with health and social care.
25. Explore overarching ideas and issues identified in patient surveys.
26. Maintain an LPG area in the waiting room of the surgery with up-to-date
information on current activities and opportunities for patients to comment (e.g. via
a suggestion box). The LPG will, where possible, regularly meet, greet and engage
with patients in the waiting area.
27. Act as a forum for staff to raise practice issues affecting patients, or for input into any
operational issues affecting staff, so that patients can have their views on practice
matters considered.
28. Act as a forum for ideas on health promotion, self-care and support activities within
the practice to promote healthy lifestyle choices.
29. Raise patient awareness of the range of services available at the surgery and help
patients to access/use such services more effectively.
30. These Terms of Reference were adopted by Leatside LPG at the meeting held on 9th
April 2024 and may be reviewed according to emerging needs.

Signed : Mike Mintrum
Chair Leatside Patients Group

Date:      April 2024

 

Download Terms of Reference here

Date published: 28th November, 2024
Date last updated: 28th November, 2024