AT the first annual meeting of Mercheford House Patients Participation Group, held at the Community Education Centre, the annual report highlighted activities throughout the year which ranged from taking part in a practice fire drill to discussing, with t

AT the first annual meeting of Mercheford House Patients Participation Group, held at the Community Education Centre, the annual report highlighted activities throughout the year which ranged from taking part in a practice fire drill to discussing, with the practice and the Primary Care Trust, the confidentiality of computer-held patients' records. Copies of the report are available at the surgery.

The meeting was addressed by Dr Warrender who expressed his hopes for working together in the future and explained some of the changes and developments which may occur in the practice as a result of the new contract between GP practices and the Primary Care Trust and the changeover to one Cambridgeshire-wide PCT.

Carol Fentimen, from the Patient and Public Involvement Directorate of Cambridgeshire PCT, spoke about the new PCT, which has a budget of £650million and employs about 4,000 staff servicing a population of 650,000. She also highlighted, through a video made by the National Association for Patient Participation, some of the work patient groups across the country have been engaged in. Jean Key, vice-chairman of the group gave a vote of thanks to the speakers and helpers on the day.