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ESSENTIALLY MEDICAL CELEBRATES 1,000 EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS
A unique company that liaises between GPs, consultants and pharmaceutical companies is celebrating its 1,000th meeting in June.
Essentially Medical is an innovative company that has saved the NHS thousands of pounds by specialising in educating NHS doctors and healthcare professionals. It does this by organising three-way meetings and educational seminars which bring consultants to GPs’ surgeries.
These meetings allow GPs to receive bespoke education and training from the relevant consultant on a wide range of subjects. The aim is to ensure GPs have the latest information at their fingertips.
Meetings normally take place at lunch time, and to ensure that time is maximised, Essentially Medical even provides lunch!
The company was started by managing director Evelyn Diamond at the end of 2004 when her role as a marketing manager at The Garden Hospital in Hendon led her to realise that a single well- focused introduction between a consultant and GP could be extremely valuable to both parties.
She was assisted at the outset by Mr Daryll Baker, Consultant General and Vascular Surgeon at The Royal Free Hospital who remains as one of the team of Consultants.
Now there are six teams that cover some of the NHS areas in London, Hertfordshire and Essex; these are Middlesex, North London, Enfield, North West London, South West Essex, West London, Waltham Forest and West Hertfordshire.
She explained: “It’s a simple idea, but unique and extremely cost-effective.
“We organise these meetings free-of-charge at a time to suit the GP and the consultant. Usually, these take place during breakfast, the lunch hour or early evening.
“What’s special about the service that we offer is that it makes the best use of time. We all know that GPs and consultants are extremely busy people and that they rarely have time to meet, so we aim to maximise the use of their time by ensuring that the GPs get the training they want, when they want it and literally bring it to them at their place of work.
The set-up is flexible which allows third-party pharmaceutical companies or medical equipment companies to get involved where relevant. These company representatives can sponsor meetings all of which comply with the guidelines set out in the ABPI Code of Practice.
Mrs Diamond added: “We estimate that we have saved the NHS many thousands of pounds. At a time when every penny counts thanks to budget cuts and an ageing population, these savings are substantial.
“We’re very proud of the links that we’ve made and the training that we’ve provided. The fact that we’ve now set up our 1,000th meeting bringing together colleagues to learn about developments in all areas of health proves that it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
“Such is the success of Essentially Medical that we are currently looking to expand into other areas of the country.”
For more information, click onto www.essentiallymedical.co.uk