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Patient groups awarded £30,000

By Smitha Mundasad

Patient Participation Groups across the country have received a total of £30,000 to support patient-led initiatives, in a campaign run jointly by the RCGP, BMA, NHS Alliance and National Association for Patient Participation (NAPP).

PPGs, typically made of volunteer patients, practice managers and one or more GPs, were offered a chance to bid for up to £4,000 of the £30,000 available from 'The Making a Difference fund', launched in August last year.

Proposals for funding were diverse, from schemes designed to widen access to patient services to initiating health promotion events.

NAPP chief executive Dr Graham Box, a member of the judging panel, said: 'The vast majority of applications were of an extremely high standard, and demonstrated a real desire to make improvements for the benefit of the local population. While the judging process was extremely difficult, these winners were selected for their innovative, yet practical ideas, which we believe will make a real difference to their local communities.'

'With some applicants requesting as little as £250 to fund an initiative, it just go to show that it doesn't take much for PPGs to create a real, positive impact.

Successful applications

Among the successful entries were:

- The Frome Patient Participation Group in Somerset, to fund a men's health promotion event at the local rugby club

- The Stanton & Corse PPG in Malvern, to fund emergency first aid training for community and resident groups

- The Charles Hicks & Roman Gate PPG in Cambridgeshire, to set up an information and support network for carers