The PPG is an active group of patient volunteers from Abbey Medical Group . The Groups’ key aims are to improve the patients’ experience and give them a voice in their local healthcare resourcing that improve their lifestyles and well being.

Our PPG ensures we have a direct link with those who commission our local healthcare; members of the group represent patients at events across the County, regionally and nationally; this ensures we can take our ideas to others and bring theirs’ back, to improve our patients’ choices about local healthcare, which reflects our particular community’s priorities. 

Read more about the PPG by downloading the leaflet below:

November 2020 update 

Blidworth on the Move Support Network, (BOTM) is trying to make life a little more bearable for the isolated and vulnerable locally, now that we face lockdown again.  Firstly, I want to let you know our volunteers are working hard to provide all service users with a Christmas Hamper.  We just everyone to have something nice at Christmas, so they feel connected and someone cares about them. In the true spirit of the festive season. We are very fortunate and thankful for the generosity this week of so many people following Seth Vassey one of our founder members and colleagues at Blidworth Fire Station, sending a `shout out’ for support by way of food and donations.  Overnight on the 14^th November they came flooding in.  See the picture where Seth’s team received a donation at the station of around a ton of food to go in our hampers.  I am so proud of the love and sharing this type of thing does bring communities.  This will be shared with people from Blidworth, Rainworth, Ravenshead and surrounding hamlets. And we have a unique mode of transport to get them out into the community.  See our report next month***

Acknowledging how difficult this time is for every one of us, being alone does an uncertain about the future and being denied a regular routine, affecting us all mentally.  So, the charity has decided to try and make links in the community with these hard to reach people.  The idea we have come up with, is that we are sending them a letter telling them about us and giving them information about how to get key support they might need over winter. These people are not connected to the internet and may not have a mobile phone, these are ones who slip through the net, as they don’t want to bother people.  In the envelope will be a copy of the Blidworth & Ravenshead Memory Group fortnightly newsletter, with an option from us to have it delivered regularly after that. It has contained snippets about local history, cooking, gardening, poems articles etc, and we want more people to contribute.  Most of the people we support range from families where the adults are in their 30s through to age our oldest client who is 98, and  thinks she is still 50, smart and bright as a button.

Not forgetting our transport service – This is where the journey began, we are still growing and increasing the numbers of people who use the voluntary transport scheme.  I am once again making an appeal for more volunteer drivers, support team staff and people to deliver the newsletter… If you can spare even 2 hours a week that can help.  So, drop me an email with a little bit about you if you are interested. gillyflower50@hotmail.com.  The team has recently been joined by Lorraine Whitchurch who is now taking booking for the vehicle her contact number is 07915929936 or my number 07915929936.  We are a charity and we depend upon donation and grants – If anyone wants to get involved in our Christmas Hamper appeal providing, food, presents, crackers, or money etc.  Contact Mark at the church. Contact number 01623 797733 or me on 07816933429.

I wanted to share some news from the  Abbey Medical Group.  We have a new Practice Manager, Frances Chater, she is a welcome addition to the team.  Frances has already worked for the NHS for over 8 years. She has been a Practice Manager for the past 4 years and has worked as a Lead Practice Manager overseeing 5 other practices during this time. She is highly professional with lots of experience in this field. We are really excited to have her as the new manager for our surgeries and we look forward to working with her and partners as we move forward. I am sure she will contribute to the growth of the Abbey Medical Group. When Frances is not working at the surgery, she enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 teenage children and their 3 bunny rabbits.

Finally, when we embarked on this journey 7 months ago, we did not realise how many people were out there who needed to feel someone cared.  Can I ask you all to check on your neighbours if they are elderly or infirm and if they need support in anyway, give the task team a call, you have got the number, now?

Keep Safe and Well Gilly Hagen – Chair Person

Co-Chairs

Gilly Hagen - gillyflower50@hotmail.com - 07816933429

Peter Challenger - 01623 461134 peter.challenger@ntlworld.com

Practice Manager Rick Gooch - 01623 435247

Members

Michelle Carr - 07930067823

Jenny Challenger - 07852907267

Mary Harris - 01623 794389

Joyce Henderson

Jackie Hewlett-Davies - jackiehd@tesco.net 

Kath McCready - 07831225602 kathmac1946@gmail.com

Margaret Marais

Chris Munton

Margaret Staples

Brenda Sharrett

Helen Tickle

Yvonne Woodhead - 07933126137

The group would like to contact patients on occasion by email and/or text so that they can obtain the views of the widest group of patients possible. We would like to obtain your email address and mobile phone number to do this. Please complete the Patient Contact Form to provide your consent for this.