1. PPG Campaigns Toolkit Support, practical guidance and signposting
Helping us get our messages heard
PPG Campaigns Toolkit
Support, practical guidance and signposting
for Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and General Practices

2. Welcome to the PPG Campaigns Toolkit
Welcome to the Campaigns Toolkit for Patient Participation Groups (PPGs). The aim is to offer some support, practical guidance and resources to PPGs and their practices, who are interested in getting more involved with promoting health and care messages and campaigns in their local areas.
Each campaign will be individual and will reflect the unique aspects of the different local communities. This toolkit should help you get started.
The Campaigns Toolkit for PPGs has been compiled by the Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). CCGs are local membership organisations led by family doctors that are responsible for planning and paying for healthcare services. They do not provide healthcare like a GP Practice or hospital. Their role is to make sure the appropriate NHS care is in place for the people of Norfolk and Waveney, within the budget they have.

3. Why PPGs?
Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) are groups of patient volunteers who form around their practices to give feedback on services, discuss improvements and sometimes undertake fundraising. Some PPGs also become active volunteer groups who help the practice to plan and run projects that benefit the practice and its patients.
We value the hard work of our PPGs. We also recognise the valuable knowledge they have about the various groups and networks that exist within their communities. Health promotion messages are important in the NHS. We see PPGs as having a key role in helping us to deliver them.

4. Campaign messages and materials
It is important that we promote messages that are accurate, compassionate and that will keep people safe. PPGs will have access to campaign materials that have been developed both nationally and locally. These messages are always developed with health and care professionals, and wherever possible they are also developed using feedback from patients and service users.

5. The messages and materials will usually be:
Available online to download
Available to order as hard copies
Different at different times of the year:
Seasonal – such as flu, winter, sun safety, Bank Holiday prescription and pharmacy
Relevant all year round – such as medicines waste, repeat prescriptions, healthy eating, disease specific e.g. heart health

6. Contact rebecca.champion@nhs.net
Campaign Ideas
The following slides are a menu of ideas for how you can help to spread messages locally.
You don’t have to do everything – just choose ones that you think will work best for your local area.
You will also have other ideas to add to this list. If you have tried something that has worked really well in your community then let us know and we’ll share it with other PPGs.
Contact

7. Display information at meetings and events:
Put posters & information in key locations:
This can also help you target your information to very
specific groups:
Mother and baby groups
Lunch clubs
Special clinics at the practice for e.g. flu or diabetics
School assemblies
Village fetes or festivals
Surgery screens
Pharmacies
Websites
Post offices
Libraries
Schools
Local businesses
Local care homes
Why not..? Invite groups & organisations to have displays at your flu clinics

8. Appoint ambassadors and champions:
Organise Awareness Events:
Appoint ambassadors and champions:
At the practice or in key locations in your area such as village halls:
Carers Awareness
Healthy eating sessions at schools or nurseries
Healthy living fairs
Annual flu ambassador – someone who drives the campaign each year
Carers champion – someone who promotes messages to carers all year round and makes sure that people understand the issues facing carers
Dementia champion – someone who promotes understanding about the issues faced by people who live with Dementia, and helps make sure their community is dementia friendly

9. Carers Week 2019 June 10 – 16th

10. What is Carers Week 2019?
Carers Week is an annual awareness campaign to celebrate and recognise the vital contribution made by the UK’s 6.5 million informal, unpaid carers
The theme for 2019 is: Getting Carers Connected
This can mean getting connected to:
Advice and Information
Services
Friends and Family
Other people, including other carers
Technology

11. What Can You Do?
Display information around your community to tell people about caring - such as the ‘What Carers Do’ resources
Get local people or your GP Practice to make a Carers Week pledge
Put on an awareness event
Like the Facebook Page gb.facebook.com/carersweek/
Follow Carers Week on Twitter

12. What Carers Do
Carers week have produced an infographic which shows all the different things carers do for others whilst also trying to have a life of their own. This could be downloaded from the website and displayed in your practice and community to help people understand. s/Get_involved/whatcarersdo.jpg

13. Links and resources
Resources are available to download from the Carers Week website:
Get Involved guide - we will be producing a 2019 guide brimming with ideas and inspiration to help you run brilliant activities and events
Carers Week 2019 digital event pack - containing all you need to run a great Carers Week activity 
Social media toolkit - soon you will be able to download our social media toolkit containing banners and shareable images for you to share on Facebook and Twitter
Template local activity/event press release: download a template local activity/event press release for you to tailor to your area and activities.
Make a pledge:
Organise a local event and upload it to:

14. What about the rest of the year
What about the rest of the year? Beyond Carers Week: Services available in Norfolk
There are lots of services and groups in Norfolk available to help carers all year round. You may want to use Carers Week to make sure everyone who visits your surgery is aware of these services!
Carers Matter Norfolk (CMN) is commissioned by Norfolk County Council and the CCGs to be our universal service to all carers who care for someone living in Norfolk. It includes:
a strong digital offer of advice, guidance and learning;
an advice line which is open every day of the week at times chosen through coproduction with carers;
a one to one community support offer;
telephone or digital counselling;
holding a number of training and education events across the county.

15. Carers Matter Norfolk Resources
Carers Matter Norfolk Leaflets
Every surgery should have received a stock of these, but if more are needed they can be ordered from the Health Information Leaflet Service here: or from Carers Matter Norfolk at
Carers Handbooks
These are available from surgeries, local libraries or online here: content/uploads/2018/12/CarersMatterNorfolk-A5-Handbook-LR pdf. They can also be ordered from the Health Information Leaflet Service here: handbook
Carers Matter Norfolk Posters
An A4 poster for the service can be downloaded here: poster

16. Carers Matter Norfolk Resources
Carers Matter Norfolk TV Screen advert
Display this image on TV screens in GP waiting areas.
Carers Matter Norfolk Newsletter or Website Text
Put information on your websites and newsletters
Follow this link to download these resources:

17. Carers UK Norfolk Resources
Carers UK Norfolk is an online resource available to any carer in Norfolk. It brings together a range of tools and resources that will help carers get the information they need.
Details about the resource, and electronic leaflets and posters can be found here: someone/carers-uk-norfolk
Part of the resource is a Care Coordination App – Jointly. This can be used on a computer or smartphone to help make sure everyone involved in caring for someone is up to date with their information. Each surgery received leaflets for this app and should have these available. If not, contact for a fresh supply!

18. Are there any Carers Groups or Events in Your Area?
There are hundreds of Carers Groups in Norfolk, supporting carers of all ages, ranging from groups open to everyone to condition specific groups.
You’ll know of many of the groups local to you - what could you do to support them and make sure everyone knows about them?
To find out about other groups in your areas, have a look at the Carers Matter Norfolk website, which hosts a directory of Carers Groups here:
Carers Matter Norfolk can also offer support to Carers Groups with help and advice on running the groups, support with creating advertising materials, or grants to support the running of the group.
Contact Carers Matter Norfolk to find out more about the support available: