On Sat 24th May the GP Direct Patient Participation group (PPG) held a very successful annual garden event in the practice front garden. The event was open to the local community, patients and staff and included a programme of informative talks and information stalls. There were delicious snacks on offer and the event was well-attended. It provided a unique opportunity for the Practice Partners, staff, patients and local community organisations to meet and chat in a relaxed environment.
Dr Rabia Yaqoob, Partner at the practice, opened the event with a warm welcome from the practice and congratulated the PPG committee on their hard work. Sam Sharkey, Practice Manager, gave a short update on practice developments including the appointment of a First Contact Physio who is available to assess and manage patients with muscle and joint related problems.
Mohamed Dewji, co-chair of the PPG, shared with attendees the activities and achievements of the PPG over the last year including a very well attended cancer awareness event in September 2024. He highlighted the PPG’s commendation at the London General Practice Patient Group Award on 6th Feb 2025
https://www.lmc.org.uk/news/gp-direct-patient-group-award-at-the-london-general-practice-awards/
Beverley Pitter the PPG admin lead spoke about the Beacon centre PPG social group which is a welcoming social space all GPD patients are welcome to attend on Tuesday lunchtime for a meal, chat, and games such as Bingo. If you are interested in joining this welcoming group, please speak to reception.
Dr Umar Khan, Partner at the practice, updated on clinical governance at the practice, including reception training and up-skilling.
Our wonderful local Community Pharmacist colleagues from Shaftesbury and Stratwicks Pharmacies shared with us the useful services they offer such as contraception and blood pressure checks which provide patients an alternative to contacting the GP. They reminded us of the Pharmacy First Service which is an alternative to contacting the GP for minor illness. https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/pharmacies/how-pharmacies-can-help/
At GP Direct we strive to work in partnership with our community pharmacy colleagues at they are the first point of contact for many of our patients.
We were lucky to be joined by active, local community groups that we work closely with and signpost patients to:
Harrow Law Centre provides free legal advice particularly supporting many of our patients with advocacy around housing related problems. https://harrowlawcentre.org.uk
Harrow Association Somali Voluntary Organisations (HASVO) provides support to ethnic minority residents in Harrow through a variety of projects including parent champions, housing and immigration advice and navigation of the NHS. https://hasvo.org
Blossom Antenatal Maternity Champions who provide support and advice to parents with young children and run free groups. https://www.blossomantenatal.com
The PPG has collaborated with Blossom Antenatal to organise Community Clothing Bank Pop-up and health engagement events.
GP Direct works in partnership with Blossom Antenatal to provide community health and wellbeing workers who support our registered families with children under 5 years old in South Harrow.
Representatives from each of these organisations shared information about their valuable services and the support & expertise they are able to provide. We thank them for their ongoing hard work to support our community with the difficulties many face relating to housing, benefits, immigration, loneliness, language barriers, and mental health problems.
The PPG updated on future projects including a PPG asylum and refugee support group which we plan to launch soon to support our significant patient population from this community.
We also shared that we are working on a project to support our patients with digital barriers to improve access to PATCHS and the NHS App.
We will be sharing news soon about regular drop-in clinics run by our PPG digital champions.
The PPG has also launched a garden group that will run on Tuesday mornings at the Stop & Grow project which provides an open supportive green space and community growing activities to promote wellbeing for residents in Harrow. It includes beautiful allotments, ponds, green houses and benches on the Ridgeway where people can socialise & do gardening. It is located on our doorstep, next to West Harrow Allotments, HA2 7DA.
This service if for our patients above 18, with Mild to Moderate mental health problems or learning disability who are able to manage independently at the session/if not need to be accompanied by carer/relative. If you are interested in this service for yourself or a family member, please speak to Reception or a member of the clinical team who will refer you to Beverley. This service is available now and will run till the end of September.
We would like to thank all community partners and organisations that supported our event, including Family Eye care in Harow and our brilliant local police officer, David who popped by to greet, encourage and congratulate us on our work despite other commitments.
Overall, the event provided a wonderful opportunity to share and celebrate the work of the PPG and for the practice and local community to come together with the aim of promoting excellent patient care, support and communication.
Please do contact: ppg.gpdirect@gmail.com or Beverley at reception if you would like to get involved in our PPG groups and activities.
Dr Jamila Sherif
GP PPG Lead