Patient Participation Group

Welcome to our Patient Participation Group (PPG)

All patients registered with the The Langton Medical Group are invited to join our Patient Participation Group. The Patients Participation Group is an online group for patients to communicate directly with the Practice about issues that will help improve the services we offer to our patients.

We will be arranging quarterly meetings via Teams to discuss upcoming changes or issues within the practice. This will allow the patients to give their opinions and views to help us develop and improve The Langton Medical Group.

Terms of reference

To enable the Practice to communicate and build positive relationships with its patient population.
To facilitate and enable dialogue between patients and the practice team and promote patient involvement in the practice.
To facilitate debate among patients concerning health needs, health priorities and current service provision within the practice boundary.
To provide a framework for the input of information relating to health commissioning priorities.
To collect feedback from patients about current health service provision and suggestions concerning gaps and how services could be improved.
To ensure the needs and interests of all patient groups are taken into consideration – including people with specific illnesses or conditions, people with a disability and people from minority ethnic groups.
To ensure patients’ needs are considered in the development of the practice systems e.g. appointment systems and telephone systems, providing information about and promoting understanding of such systems amongst patients.
To review and where appropriate provide advice and recommendations on patient surveys.

Code of conduct

The Langton Medical Group Patient Participation Group (PPG) is not a forum for an individual/s to resolve personal complaints or single issues, such matters should be raised and addressed using the Practice Complaints Policy.
All views are valid and will be listened to.
Requests for confidentiality will be observed.
There is no maximum length of term of membership.
Members can resign and rejoin at a later date.

Getting your view

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.

Signup and request to become a PPG member

Latest PPG minutes

Date: Tuesday, 25th November 2025
Chaired: Martin Weston

Meeting purpose

To discuss updates and improvements at Langton Surgery, focusing on the implementation of GP Triage, patient feedback, and strategies to increase Patient Participation Group (PPG) membership.

Key takeaways

GP Triage has been introduced as a new AI-based system for patient appointment booking, with around 900 successful bookings in the past month and a half, though some patients experience difficulties due to symptom-based input requirements
AI technology has been implemented internally to assist with coding clinical letters, improving accuracy and reducing staff workload, which positively impacts staff mental health and working practices
Patient feedback via the Friends and Family Test is regularly collected and reviewed, showing mostly positive responses with a response rate estimated between 35% and 45%, and is used for performance management and service improvement
Efforts are underway to increase PPG membership through advertising on local platforms such as the Whittington village Facebook page and cancer support groups to enable more patient involvement and constructive feedback

Topics:

GP Triage implementation

GP Triage is an AI-driven system allowing patients to book appointments without phoning or visiting the practice
The system asks symptom-based questions to direct patients to appropriate appointments, including general, physiotherapy, mental health, and paediatric services
Patients with certain conditions are diverted to pharmacy first or specific winter pressure appointments
There are safety features prompting urgent action if symptoms indicate serious conditions
Patient education is primarily conducted via phone support when patients experience difficulties using the system
The system is accessible to all patients, with phone booking still available for those less comfortable with technology

New software used internally to assist with workloads

AI software assists in coding clinical letters from hospitals to improve accuracy and reduce human error
Summaries generated by AI are visible to patients via the NHS app with appropriate disclaimers
This technology has helped reduce staff workload and improve efficiency, positively affecting staff wellbeing

Patient feedback and friends and family test

Monthly feedback is collected via text messages after appointments, with October data showing mostly positive responses
Feedback is reviewed by management, partners, and GPs, and used for performance appraisals and service improvements
Negative feedback is considered for feasible improvements; examples include waiting room facilities
Feedback is anonymous, so direct patient follow-up is not possible
The practice also manages formal complaints separately through the practice manager