Patient Participation Group Meeting 15/04/2026

HOWDEN MEDICAL CENTRE

PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP

WEDNESDAY 15^th APRIL 2026

MINUTES

In Attendance:

Dr D Rose – GP Partner

Joanne Jennison – Practice Manager

Christine Shearer

Anne Bell

Valerie Ellerington

Robert Pickersgill

Susan Glass

Irene Dance

Shirley Stanley

Cherrilyn Shillito

Apologies:

Dr R Harrison – GP Partner

Sarah Boggitt

Victoria Townsley

1.	APOLOGIES Apologies were received as above.
2.	PLANS TO CREATE MORE CAPACITY AT THE MEDICAL CENTRE The practice will be putting a bid in imminently for funding for a Portacabin building on the car park which will house 3 offices and 5 staff. Should this be agreed and planning permission successful, this will allow a further bid to be submitted for funding to convert 3 current admin offices into clinical rooms. This will provide essential extra clinical space and capacity, allow the practice to take on another GP Registrar, and employ further clinical staff as the practice grows. It was discussed that some car park spaces will be lost due to this. However, there was general agreement that the need for clinicians and appointments is imperative and until the new building is in place this is the option available.
3.	FUTURE PLANNING DEVELOPMENTS AND NEW BUILD
	The map for the North Howden Development was shared with the group showing where the new medical centre would be located. Discussions are ongoing with the ICB and the Developer. The ICB and NHS England have confirmed they fully support a new practice building. Due to other expected planning applications on the horizon the size of the proposed building has been increased, and the developer is currently looking at the land plan. A meeting is soon to take place with the ICB, the Developer and the Surveyor who project managed the Pocklington Practice Development as that is the size of property we are now looking at. The Council has a call for sites open currently. A call for sites is an information gathering exercise which helps the council to understand what land is potentially available for development in the area to meet future needs. It is principally aimed at landowners, developers, housebuilders and other stakeholders to submit land for consideration in preparing a new Local Plan. There is a map available on the council website on which sites are detailed that have been put forward, a copy was tabled for the group. This information has had an impact on the size of building and plot that the ICB have now agreed the practice needs. The new timescale for the practice to be in the new building has also been reduced from 8 to 10 years to 4 to 5 years. As the design of the building starts to take shape the Patient Group will be consulted from a patient perspective just as all staff groups will be consulted.
4.	PRACTICE UPDATE
4.1	STAFFING The Finance Manager will leave at the end of June, the Practice Manager is taking on the Finance Role. To support this change, an Assistant Practice Manager has been employed and is expected to start at the beginning of May to take over a number of administrative and operational areas from the Practice Manager. Dr Silva has left the practice to work closer to home, an Advanced Nurse Practitioner who has locumed for the practice for many years has now been employed permanently for two days per week, a new GP will start in September working two days per week so clinical capacity will increase by a day a week.
4.2	GP Contract Although the headline changes to the GP Contract this year are known, the detail and wording has not yet been released therefore changes cannot be made to appointments systems, etc, to meet the requirements until this is released. Enhanced Service changes have also not yet been released the BMA (British Medical Association) could take collective action from 30 April unless the Government ‘pauses’ plans around mandated advice and guidance and put in safeguards regarding same-day access to mitigate same day demand once practices have reached their daily safe working limits.
5.	ICB / NHS ENGLAND RESTRUCTURE
	The process is underway for Voluntary Redundancies and the restructure of the organisations. Details regarding the new structure has not yet been released but it is known that there will be no Primary Care department within the structure.
6.	ANY OTHER BUSINESS GOOLE HOSPITAL Discussion was had around Goole Hospital. Not much new information is known currently but there is work ongoing to identify what services will be housed at Goole.