A Patient Participation Group (PPG) is where a group of health professionals and patients can come together to address issues that effect health and health services in their local community.

Usually connected to a particular GP practice, patient forums provide a link between practice staff and their registered patients.

The agenda of any particular group will depend upon the local needs, interests and energies of the participants, but its key role is to:

• Act as a sounding board for ideas and support the practice to provide a high quality of care and service delivery
• Enable patients to have a say on how the practice operates
• Provide feedback on new systems within the practice such as booking an appointment

A Patient Engagement Forum (PEF) is a group we have developed locally for each of the practice sites and runs in addition and in collaboration with the practice-wide PPG.  Whilst we only have one PPG (for Modality Lewisham as a whole), we have 3 PEF; one for each of our sites: Bellingham Green, South Lewisham Group Practice and The Jenner Practice.  These forums are made up of patients who attend that site and some of the health professionals and other staff who work at that site.  The agenda is tailored to the needs of the local site but also to that of the wider practice. They work together and meet regularly in the same way as the PPG do.