A Shropshire businessman has spoken at the House of Lords about his work to support primary care services within the National Health Service at a time of increasing demands on its resources and funding.
Peter Masters, business manager of Caradoc Medical Services, based at Longbow Close, Shrewsbury, was invited to speak at the reception on possible solutions to the many and varied problems currently being experienced by the NHS.
Mr Masters was invited because of the work Caradoc is doing in developing new initiatives to help tackle some of the difficulties faced by the health service. The event was hosted at the House of Lords by Lord Ribeiro.
Caradoc was originally set up in 2009 to maximise the buying power of out-of-hours healthcare provider Shropshire Doctors Co-operative and local GP surgeries. The buying consortium now represents more than 25,000 members nationwide including GP surgeries, dentists, care homes, osteopaths, therapists, veterinary practices and other small businesses.
Mr Masters talked about Caradoc initiatives designed to help primary care services save money notably; GP indemnity insurance via Lockton, Caracalls telephony solutions via Fluid Network Solutions and Caraprint via Practice Supplies.
Mr Masters said: “It was an honour to speak at the reception.
“We have seen a massive expansion since launching seven years ago and the opportunity to speak at such a prestigious occasion is testament to the results we have achieved.”
Caradoc Medical Services supports the Clinical Commissioning Groups Association – an independent association founded this year to represent the chairs of the NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups at no cost to themselves or the NHS.
“Its aim is to provide a forum to discuss the possible solutions to the problems that they may face in dealing with the increasing demands of the NHS,” added Mr Masters.
“Caradoc buying consortium is all about strength in numbers; through the collective buying power of all our members Caradoc can negotiate more competitive prices and terms with suppliers than members could if they purchased goods and services individually.
“Each member drives up the power Caradoc has in the marketplace, helping to generate savings for members and increase their profitability.”
Rob Tolley, of approved supplier Fluid Network Solutions, worked with Caradoc to launch Caracalls, an innovative new telephony service hailed as a revolutionary concept which is helping to improve the experience of patients in Shropshire.
He said: “Caracalls was developed in response to GP surgeries highlighting that patients were struggling to get through to practices to make appointments.
“The new service, over a voice only IP network, links with out of hours medical service Shropdoc to allow assistance with appointment bookings and nurse triage. It also provides key business continuity and disaster recovery services.
“The practices can make calls to other GP practices and organisations who are also on the network free of charge so the more surgeries that come on board, the bigger the savings that can be made.
“Caracalls is a perfect example of how members drive up the power Caradoc has in the marketplace.”
The consortium is free to join, with no membership fees and as a not-for-profit organisation surplus is invested into a range of initiatives across health economies.
“Caradoc is proud to be led by and for our members,” said Mr Masters. “We take on average just one per cent commission from some suppliers ensuring our members always get highly competitive prices.
“The message I was keen to get across at the House of Lords was that Caradoc can help organisations to save both time and money without compromising on quality.”
For more information about Caradoc Medical Services visit www.caradocmedicalservices.co.uk
Left to right: Peter Baker, Practice Supplies, Julian Barnes, Practice Supplies, Peter Masters, Caradoc, Anne Masters, Caradoc and Rob Tolley, Fluid Network Solutions.
