Medinet

Medinet is one of the UK’s leading independent healthcare companies, working with NHS Trusts across the UK to help reduce waiting lists. The company was set up in 2000 by Cwmbran-born Peter Jeffreys, who now lives in Newport where Medinet has based its head office. The business was set up from scratch with no external assistance and during its first three years, the company has experienced significant levels of growth, including increasing its workforce from two people in 2000 to 22 employees in 2003. To date, Medinet has treated more than 20,000 NHS patients across England and Wales and works with over 30 NHS Trusts. Trusts transfer the management of patient care to Medinet, which makes all the arrangements for patients to travel to alternative UK hospitals that have been specially selected as having less pressure on resources. Medinet also arranges all patient travel to and from the hospital through its own fleet of vehicles. The company handles every aspect of patient treatment including outpatient care, surgery and all investigations and necessary follow-ups, and all subsequent after care is provided at the patient’s local hospital by Medinet consultants to avoid unnecessary travel for the patient.

Origins

Peter Jeffreys – Medinet’s managing director - first thought of the concept behind Medinet in 1993 but the political environment was not right to launch the company at this stage. When the waiting list targets came into force in 1999/2000, this widened the distance between the public and private healthcare sectors, leaving a significant gap in the market for Medinet to fill. As a new business, Medinet’s initial challenge was to establish itself in the market place as a reliable, reputable company that could provide a valuable service to NHS Trusts. This was quickly achieved through good salesmanship and a strong emphasis on delivering results.

Success factors

The increasing pressure from the government in England to reduce waiting lists has led to a significant growth for Medinet. NHS Trusts have become more innovative and open minded in their methods of tackling waiting lists as a result. Good salesmanship and relationship building also played an important role in the company’s growth and the number of NHS Trusts working with the company grew significantly. Equally as important was the delivery of results. Meeting targets as promised is a crucial part of what Medinet does.

The future?

Immediate plans include expanding the business and further establishing Medinet as the market leader in waiting list reduction. Long term, Medinet is keen to branch out into other areas of healthcare including health screening and scanning and there are also aspirations to run a group of hospitals under the Medinet service.

Sector: Legal Expenses Insurance providers

Growth: 1160.5%