PPG Chair for Swineshead Medical Group in Lincolnshire, Ava Harding-Bell, explains how she contributes to the PPG, which ultimately inspired a published study with “The Journal of Cancer Policy”
Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) are made up of a group of volunteer patients, the practice manager and one or more of the GPs from a GP practice. They meet on a regular basis to discuss the services on offer, and how improvements can be made for the benefit of patients and the practice.
Ava Harding-Bell became chair for the PPG for Swineshead Medical Group in January 2023 and has been passionate about patient care and the patient’s voice for 24 years.
In November 2022, Harding-Bell began working with the Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health Research (LIIRH) of which she is now a member. Harding-Bell was asked to complete a “lay summary” in November 2022 for Dr David Nelson, a Lay Macmillan Fellow at LIIRH. This partnership and active interest in the wellbeing and care of patients as a PPG led her to co-write the article “Implementing the European Code of Cancer Practice In Rural Settings” which was recently published in the “The Journal of Cancer Policy,” March 2024 Edition.
Harding-Bell stresses the importance of PPGs and for the public to become more actively involved in their local practice.
She states “This work has heightened the awareness of our PPG both locally, nationally, and internationally and is a springboard into getting new members on board where we live. Organisations that are funding the various studies see me as a rich source of Lived in Experience as a PPIE (Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement). This in turn shows that PPG’s have on-the-ground experience as patients in a rural community who very knowledgeable and valuable. Ultimately, people and patients in local rural communities have a voice and are being heard through this valuable and lifechanging work.”
Harding-Bell continues her work on what it is like to live and receive medical care in rural areas such as Lincolnshire, including an upcoming study with Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health (LIIRH) for Cancer Research UK on Lung Cancer.