The Castle Point and Southend West MPs joined Highlands Surgery staff and local residents at their Patient Reference Group meeting on the 10th of February.
Highlands Surgery is based in Leigh-on-Sea but covers residents across both constituencies, with the respective MPs regularly receiving feedback on the services offered – especially on the ability to access GP appointments.
Both MPs are committed to improving the local primary care network, especially following the rollout of the new ‘eConsult’ system which had been criticised by some residents for being too difficult to use and acting as a barrier to face-to-face appointments.
During the meeting, the group discussed the importance of meaningful engagement with patients, improving communication with residents, and enhancing the fantastic services they already offer.
There was particularly good news when Highlands staff announced that over 100,000 paper notes had been removed from the surgery over the last week to make space for a new consultation room.
This will help them reach their wide aim of looking to expand the area they cover and number of patients.
The Patient Reference Group is held on the last Tuesday of each month between 12:30pm and 13:30pm at the Estuary Club and is currently seeking more members so as many patients can be heard as possible.
Anna said,
“As part of my plan to improve our local healthcare system, I want to ensure residents' concerns over barriers to accessing GP appointments are heard loud and clear.”
“Face-to-face appointments are vital for taking the burden off the healthcare system further down, so the new consultation room and ambitions to expand are most welcome!”
Rebecca Harris, Castle Point MP said,
“It’s very important that GPs listen to the residents on their books and respond to their concerns
“I am very grateful to Highlands Surgery in Leigh for inviting me to see how well they engage with their patients group”
