Patient Representation
Patient Participation Groups (PPGs)
Each GP practice is required to have a PPG. This is a group of patients who work with their practice to improve healthcare services and outcomes. We encourage patients to join their practice’s PPG.
We run a Forum for PPG members. See here for more information. Links to the PPG page on each practice's website can be found here.
Some GP practices also have a Patient Reference Group. The practice can send surveys and other information to this online group.
North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT)
Involvement Representatives
NELFT recruits patients and carers who use their services to work alongside them to help improve services. They offer paid work to involvement representatives in areas such as interviews panels for NELFT staff; representing the patients and carers voice in meetings; monitoring the quality of NELFT services and consultation involvement for Trust policies as part of reading panels.
Membership
Becoming a NELFT member is a great way to learn more about your local health services and to strengthen your connection with your provider of local community and mental health services. NELFT has over 10,000 public members across all of its areas. It is free to join as a member and you can choose how much or how little you take part. You can get more involved by attending events, joining the Integrated Patient and Carer Experience Partnership group, coming along to NELFT’s our Annual General Meeting, taking part in consultations and by sharing your views about NELFT through the members’ elected representatives, the Council of Governors, or by standing for election yourself.
Governors
The Council of Governors work with NELFT to support its continued development as a foundation trust. The governors represent the views of our members, help shape, and endorse NELFT’s future strategies. They do not have any influence over the day-to-day running of the trust but do take part in a range of statutory duties that enables NELFT to operate in line with NHS values and regulations as set out by Monitor, the Independent Regulator for NHS Foundation Trusts.
The Council is made up of elected public and staff governors, and appointed governors from local partner organisations.
Waltham Forest's public member governors are Robert Gay, Professor Gabriel Ivbijaro MBE PhD (a Waltham Forest GP) and Caroline Sproat.
Whipps Cross Patient Panel
Established over 20 years ago, the Patients' Panel thrives thanks to the dedication of its volunteer members, who number approximately 50. These members play a crucial role in shaping the future of Whipps Cross Hospital by sharing their valuable perspectives as patients and carers. Their insights help drive improvements across the hospital.
The Panel holds monthly meetings on the third Tuesday of every month, alternating between afternoon sessions (1:30-3:30pm) and evening sessions (5:30-7:30pm), with a flexible hybrid format, that allows members to attend either in person or remotely. In addition to these meetings, many members take on further roles, such as acting as patient representatives on hospital committees, participating in service reviews and audits, contributing to quality improvement projects, or supporting trust-wide patient initiatives.
Whipps Cross Community Forum
If you use Whipps Cross as your local hospital then you can join the Whipps Cross Redevelopment Community Forum to share your views on the redevelopment of your hospital.
The Community Forum is a place where users and future users of Whipps Cross can discuss and give their opinions on all things Whipps Cross and in particular the proposed redevelopment of the site. It is an exciting group of people from around the catchment area of Whipps Cross including parts of Epping Forest district and Redbridge as well as Waltham Forest.
A main aim of the Community Forum is to ensure that community engagement is done well, and that the forum is a reflection of the populations it serves. Thus, applications are particularly encouraged from young people, people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, ethnic minorities and those outside of Waltham Forest who use Whipps Cross as their main hospital.
For more information, please contact the Chair of the Whipps Cross Community Forum, Zakriya Mohammed at zakriya.mohammed@nhs.net.
The People’s Panel
The North East London Integrated Care Board (NEL ICB) have a People’s Panel consisting of over 2,200 residents in the eight boroughs – Barking & Dagenham, City of London, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets as well as Waltham Forest - that make up the NHS North East London area.
Members of the panel provide vital feedback on a wide variety of health topics and proposals by taking part in online surveys. It is a quick and easy way for you to get involved in shaping the future of healthcare services.
The panel includes representation from different voices across the NEL ICB area including age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, physical and mental health conditions and people with learning disabilities.