31st May – 6th June
National Patient Participation Week aims to raise the profile of Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) who work with the NHS, especially in GP surgeries.
Patient Participants use their lived experience to influence the way patients are treated by GPs and medical professionals. The week also promotes the work of the National Association of Patient Participation (NAPP), which allows patient participation groups to work together nationally.
PPGs are a contractual requirement, meaning that NHS medical Centres and GP services have to have a patient participant group and thus receive patient feedback to influence the way treatment of patients is carried out.
At meetings, the group, made up of both patients and staff, discusses patient feedback and shares ideas on how services could be improved.
Everyone who is a registered patient at a practice can join a PPG and you can base your level of involvement on the available time you have.
To find out more about your PPG and to register, see your GP Practice website. Find out more about what a patient participation group does, and how to join one, on the campaign website, or watch this video.
Find out more about how PPGs work in this video and visit the NAPP website:
In honour of national patient participation week, we wanted to remind you of all the ways patients can get involved with us.
At PCR, we are committed to ensuring our work and research is informed by the people it matters most to – people affected by prostate cancer. Over the past year, we expanded and improved our patient voice work, engaging more patients than ever.
Our Patient Panel help us decide which research we should fund, and no specialist knowledge is required. Last year, in total, 28 patient representatives from across the UK reviewed applications to our 2020 grant call and decided which projects to fund.
Patient representatives also review our ‘Treating Prostate Cancer, Questions and Answers’ information booklet. Their input is invaluable in enabling us to ensure our booklet is as useful as possible to the people it is designed to help.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we knew that our commitment to patients was more important than ever. So, we hosted four Zoom Q&As with seven of our funded scientists and overall, the sessions were attended by 126 people. Patients and PCR supporters can engage directly with our scientists during these sessions, and ask any questions that they want. This also reassured many that our research was continuing to make progress for prostate cancer patients during a challenging time for both researchers and patients.
Last year, we also commissioned social-research agency Versiti to conduct a patient study to help us understand the experiences of people living with prostate cancer – both in normal circumstances and in the context of COVID-19. This year, we are using the findings to develop a patient and information programme that meets the needs of people with prostate cancer and is aligned with our focus on research that matters to patients. We hope to continue to run studies like this in the future.
In fact, as a result of all our work on Patient Voice, we were shortlisted for the 2020 Charity Times Change Project of the Year!
We are always looking for patients and their families to get involved in our patient voice programme. You can help us decide what projects to fund, meet our scientists, share your story, and more. Your voice matters to us.
You can find out more about our patient voice work, and sign up to our patient voice updates to stay up-to-date on our work and how you can get involved: