Berkshire West Patient Participation Groups

What is a patient participation group or PPG?

A Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a group of people who are patients of the GP surgery or health centre and want to help it work as well as it can for patients, doctors and staff. The NHS requires every GP practice to have a PPG.

What is the purpose of a patient participation group?

To give practice staff and patients the opportunity to, where possible, share decision-making in the running of the practice. To provide for patients to make positive suggestions about the practice, and be an advocate for patient preferences when appropriate.

How can I join a patient participation group?

You can join via your own GP practice:

  • Check your practice website for joining instructions
  • Speak to your practice manager or reception staff

If you are already a member of a Patient Participation Group in Berkshire West, you can use this space to talk to other members and groups, and share ideas. Berkshire West includes Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire.

To start using this space, please register on Your Voice, and contact the engagement team at bobicb-ox.engagement.bobics@nhs.net so we can add you to your home hub. You will need to include your PPG name and which hub you would like to join.

What is a patient participation group or PPG?

A Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a group of people who are patients of the GP surgery or health centre and want to help it work as well as it can for patients, doctors and staff. The NHS requires every GP practice to have a PPG.

What is the purpose of a patient participation group?

To give practice staff and patients the opportunity to, where possible, share decision-making in the running of the practice. To provide for patients to make positive suggestions about the practice, and be an advocate for patient preferences when appropriate.

How can I join a patient participation group?

You can join via your own GP practice:

  • Check your practice website for joining instructions
  • Speak to your practice manager or reception staff

If you are already a member of a Patient Participation Group in Berkshire West, you can use this space to talk to other members and groups, and share ideas. Berkshire West includes Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire.

To start using this space, please register on Your Voice, and contact the engagement team at bobicb-ox.engagement.bobics@nhs.net so we can add you to your home hub. You will need to include your PPG name and which hub you would like to join.

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Medicines waste management

    Help the NHS to reduce medicines waste – ‘together we can make a difference ’

    We are urging patients to carry out simple tasks to help reduce medicines waste across BOB. It is estimated that medicines waste costs the NHS nationally £300m.

    Actions you can take include the following:

    • Check how much prescription medicines you have at home before ordering more.
    • Check the expiry date on your medicines; only order what you need.
    • When ordering your medication , if you don’t need it, don’t tick it.
    • Speak to a pharmacist if you need advice and support on your medicines.
    • When you collect your medicines check your bag of medication – once you leave the pharmacy, any unwanted items cannot be reused.

    Store your medicines safely

    Medicines should be stored in cabinets or in a secure location away from children and pets.

    Dispose of medicines waste carefully

    Unwanted medication should be returned to a community pharmacy for safe disposal. Often, unwanted medication ends up being disposed of incorrectly, flushed down toilets or thrown out with general waste. There is a risk medication could be ingested by wildlife, cause water contamination or be used inappropriately by other people .

    The NHS App and Digital Cafés

    You can manage your prescription medicines better through the NHS App. From September, if you need help and support using the NHS App you can visit a Digital Café. These are held each week across BOB and are held in various locations such as libraries and other public venues led by people who’ll improve your skills and knowledge on using the NHS App, especially around managing your medicines. Information about times and locations of Digital Cafés which are free to join can be found here(External link)

    To download the NHS App visit https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/(External link)

    Visit our medicines waste webpage

    We have a dedicated webpage on our StayWellBOB site which provides more information, tips and advice on how to reduce medicines waste, and includes links to six short videos on the subject see here(External link).

    How can patient participation groups help reduce medicines waste?

    We need your help to reduce medicines waste across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West (BOB).

    Please see a slide desk presentation on the right hand side of this page which provides further information about the campaign, and how you can help us to raise awareness among patients, and your family and friends. Some suggestions include:

    • Talking to your PPG members about the campaign messages and how you can share these wider.
    • Sharing the key messages with your family and friends to raise awareness with them.
    • Work with your GP practices to reduce medicines waste.

    If you have any questions about the presentation please contact: bobicb.medicines@nhs.net(External link)

    More information is available on our dedicated campaign website(External link).

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    GP Team Roles Project

    The public involvement team have developed a toolkit available for all primary care use. This is a toolkit that outlines the roles of additional team members in primary care.

    Production of this has come from feedback shared at our PPG engagement event and through the project page on Your Voice. You can see the toolkit on the GP team roles project page here: GP Practice Team Roles Project | http://yourvoicebob-icb.uk.engagementhq.com

Page last updated: 19 Nov 2025, 02:42 PM