BROWN CLEE PATIENT GROUP UPDATES

​Next meeting:   Tuesday 21st May 2024  - 7pm in Ditton Priors Village Hall. Discussion of the new Constitution (attached below) will be on the Agenda for the PPG meeting on 21st May.

Notes from previous meetings are attached below.

March 2024 - Wonderful news! 

Dr Bassett has asked me to let you all know that he has appointed Dr Wendy Matthews as a Partner GP, with effect from 1st April. Dr Matthews will not have any surgery appointments until after 1st May, as she will be working out her notice period with her current Practice, but she is able to help prepare Brown Clee for the CQC inspection which all newly created Partnerships receive. We look forward to welcoming Dr Matthews in May!

There were several highly appropriate questions raised at the last PPG meeting (20th February). The questions asked needed to be answered correctly and that the contractual and funding arrangements for Practices are very complicated and are continually changing. I have therefore attached a document with some links to further sources of information, for those of you that want to understand more. I hope that this information is helpful (and even interesting to some!), and I am very happy to try to help with further relevant questions. 

Tina Ranson, Chair of Brown Clee PPG

February 2024 - Period of change at Brown Clee Medical Practice. 

As some of you may be aware, Brown Clee Medical Practice will shortly be entering a period of change. Please find below a statement from the Integrated Care Board (which includes Shropshire NHS and the Local Authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin) and the Primary Care Network of which Brown Clee Medical Practice is a member. The Integrated Care Board (ICB) manages health and care provision across Shropshire. The Primary Care Network for South East Shropshire is made up of 9 Medical Practices:  Ironbridge, Much Wenlock, Broseley, Bridgnorth, Highley, Albrighton, Alveley,  Cleobury Mortimer and Brown Clee.  The PCN is providing some additional staff to work in these 9 Practices including Clinical Pharmacists and Mental Health professionals. The attached statement explains how all these bodies are now working together to support Brown Clee Medical Practice through the changes it is currently undergoing. 

April 2023 - BCMP Community Group Public Statement

The medium to long term provision of GP services within the Brown Clee Medical Practice area is currently uncertain. Dr Railton has announced her intention to retire from the partnership at the end of 2023 and Dr. Bassett by the end of 2027. There is a known shortage of GP’s wishing to locate to rural communities therefore recruitment to our area to replace them is expected to be difficult. It was proposed by the Partners that a community led buy-out of the premises, removing the need for new partners to buy into the equity, might assist in attracting GP’s to the Practice.

To advance this idea, an unincorporated community group has been formed comprising patients of the Practice. A Committee has been established from members of this group and a constitution adopted. The purpose of the Group is as follows: 

1. To support the ongoing provision of the Brown Clee Medical Practice (BCMP).

2. To assess the feasibility, and support the acquisition of, the surgery buildings currently owned by the Brown Clee Medical Practice in Stottesden and Ditton Priors by the community and individuals served by the Practice.

3. To work with the BCMP Partners and Medical Practice, Patient Participation Group (PPG), the NHS and associated bodies and other community groups in support of this purpose.

The Group is currently looking at all available options to purchase the Practice premises through community led projects. These may include obtaining grants, community funding, fundraising, loans, and private investments alongside which various legal structures are being considered. More detailed information will be made available to the community as the situation progresses.

The Group is seen as a short-term organisation formed to explore the possible options in detail, and it would then be superseded by an incorporated organisation, whether community or privately owned, that would be established in a suitable form to own and manage things in the preferred way for the longer term.

Membership of the Brown Clee Medical Practice Community Group is open to anyone over the age of 18 who is a patient of the BCM Practice. Members may be asked to assist the Committee in accordance with their skills and knowledge and present information to the Committee as and when it is relevant. Members can request attendance at a committee meeting where there will be an opportunity to speak. However the Committee will necessarily attend to the business at hand and will not be able to accept Members participation in the formal section of the meeting. All information is to be kept strictly confidential and must not be freely distributed. Only the Committee is authorised to disseminate information. Anyone wishing to become a Member should email bcmpcommunitygroup@btinternet.com