Reading Patient Voice Group exists to foster better health and wellbeing through patient engagement with the NHS and other services in our town. We meet regularly to hear about healthcare and to discuss arrangements for it. We encourage involvement with Patient Participation Groups at GP surgeries and other forms of patient engagement with healthcare providers.
Reading Patient Voice Group membership is open to adults living in Reading Borough or registered with a GP surgery in Reading Borough. We also welcome guests to our activities from further afield. Most of our meetings are held as hybrid, that is both in person and online to make it easy for people in different circumstances to attend.
The NHS is a complex organisation and to have any influence or make any change requires some knowledge of its organisation. We aim to spread knowledge of how to engage with it.
Reading Patient Voice Group was originally South Reading Patient Voice when South Reading healthcare was governed by a separate Clinical Commissioning Group, South Reading CCG. It was started by the CCG to provide patient engagement in the probationary year of that CCG as coverage of surgeries by effective Patient Participation Groups was far from complete. It became independent when the NHS was no longer able to find its activities.