KNEBWORTH AND MARYMEAD MEDICAL PRACTICE
PATIENT PARTICIPATION GROUP NEWSLETTER
August 2026
Unplanned Care Hub
The Unplanned Care Hub is an additional capacity service which is available to offer extra appointments to all of the core practices in the South Stevenage Primary Care Network for same-day appointments. This service is located at Marymead and Roebuck Surgeries, providing a convenient option for patients who need prompt medical attention for non-severe health issues.
If your condition is deemed appropriate for this service, your surgery will schedule an appointment for you at Marymead or Roebuck Surgery. This ensures that patients can receive timely care, helping to alleviate pressure on our main facilities and allowing us to manage patient flow more efficiently.
Examples of appropriate conditions for this service are first presentation of minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds and fever, acute respiratory issues, abdominal pains, skin infections.
The Unplanned Care Hub is usually manned by a GP, an Advanced Care Practitioner (ANP) and an Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP). The Practice will book you in with the correct clinician for your ailment.
The Processing of Patient Letters
When the Practice receives a letter or clinical document from a hospital or specialist, they aim to process it as quickly as possible. Most documents are reviewed within a few working days of being received.
To help them to process documents safely and efficiently, they use a secure NHS-approved system called GP AutoPilot. This uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help identify important information within hospital letters, such as medication changes, blood pressure, height and weight measurements, test and investigation results, diagnoses, planned procedures and follow-up arrangements.
The system also creates a short summary to help the clinical team quickly understand the key points. Every document is still checked by a member of the Practice team before it is added to your medical record.
Please be aware that the Practice can only process letters once they have received them. Hospitals do not always send correspondence immediately after your appointment or discharge, so there can sometimes be a delay before it is received.
Not every hospital letter needs to be reviewed by a GP. Documents are only forwarded to a clinician if they require action, such as arranging a referral requested by the hospital, organising further tests or investigations, reviewing information that requires a GP decision.
Our aim is to ensure all hospital information is processed accurately, safely and as promptly as possible, so that your medical record remains up to date and any necessary follow-up is arranged.
The Patient Engagement Platform
The aim of the Patient Engagement Platform (PEP) is to help the NHS to provide an even better service to patients. They hope to do this by putting patients in touch with one another, by liaising with patient groups, such as PPGs and Hospital Patients' Panels, by building a PPG network, by making contact with local NHS institutions, such as the ICB, and by conducting surveys of patients' concerns and issues. All in all, to engage and to represent the "patient voice". Their website thepatientengagementplatform.org.uk provides valuable source information for these aims and objectives.
Joint PCN/SSPCN Meetings
The next meeting organised jointly by the South Stevenage Primary Care Network (SSPCN) and its associated PPGs will be held on Thursday, 17th September at 7.30 pm at the Stevenage Arts and Community Centre on Roaring Meg. The presentations that evening will focus on various aspects of stress and stress management. Nearer the date, invitations to attend will be sent out by the Primary Care Network, via EventBrite. Alternatively, if you would like to attend this event, please get in touch with Rosie or Graham.
PPG Meeting
The next monthly PPG Meeting will not be until Tuesday, 22nd September, starting at 7.00 pm. The subject of the main presentation is still to be determined and details of this will be announced as soon as practicable. We welcome all patients to our monthly PPG Meetings.
PPG Officers
Mandy Preedy,
Graham Fothergill,
David Wilkinson,
Joy Hall,
Rosie Chisnell,