A group spearheading patient power in local healthcare services is trying to reach out to more people and organisations in a bid to get more of the community involved.

The Ilkley Moor Medical Practice’s Patient Council aims to forge links with hospitals, community organisations, schools and the police in a bid to improve its communication with local people and help it better represent patients’ views.

The practice, based at the Springs Medical Centre, Springs Lane, serves 13,000 registered patients in and around Ilkley, and has nine GPs plus nurses and other staff.

The Patient Council was founded in 2003, when few such groups existed nationwide, to provide a formal link between the practice doctors, staff, and representatives of the thousands of patients.

The Government is currently making strong attempts nationwide to encourage medical practices to set up similar patient councils or patient participation groups.

The Patient Council enables important general patient concerns and not specific complaints from individuals to be aired and discussed with practice representatives.

It also proposes possible ways to improve services and works to ensure a flow of communication to patients about developments which may affect them.

Today, the Patient Council, consisting entirely of patients, meets quarterly, and its meetings are attended by GPs and other staff from the practice.

Among its achievements, the group cites the establishment of annual health awareness day events, the redesign of the centre’s reception counter for easier use by disabled patients, and supporting developments at the practice, such as enabling it to provide its own phlebotomy and Warfarin clinics.

The Patient Council also gained representation in the working committee looking at the redevelopment of Ilkley’s Coronation Hospital, as two of its members are on the Wharfedale Hospital Forum in Otley.

It recently established a sub-committee to explore how the group can communicate better with the 13,000 patients it serves.

Vice chairman, Brian Sayer, said: “It’s a very difficult task trying to make effective communication with all of those people. Some don’t often come to the surgery. As a patient council we have to look for the most effective channels of communication.”

Members came up with the idea of approaching organisations within Wharfe-dale to help spread the message.

Members of the Patient Council have had discussions with Churches Together in Ilkley, the Clarke Foley Centre, Ilkley Rotary Club, and made contact with local primary schools. The group gained representation from Ilkley Grammar School, and attracted interest from Neighbourhood Policing Team officers.

Ilkley Moor Medical Practice’s Patient Council has also been approached by people in Silsden, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Bramhope and Addingham about setting up similar groups..

The Patient Council has a notice board at the Springs Medical Centre. The minutes of its last meeting can also be found on its website.