At Medacs we offer Clinical Insourcing work as a way to help the NHS boost surgical capacity and reduce patient waiting lists. Through insourcing work, our candidates are also able to earn extra income and build their experience in a fast-growing area.
We interviewed Stuart, a Consultant Urologist working within our insourcing teams to learn more about what this work entails and the benefits of it.
How long have you been working on insourcing projects?
"Around 18 months with Medacs. I did some work with another insourcing provider a few years ago."
Why did you choose to get involved with insourcing projects?
"For most of us doing this, the overwhelming motivation is to reduce our waiting lists. That’s the bottom line. We must do all we can to boost our capacity and reduce long waits for patients.
78 weeks is a very long time to wait, even for a simple procedure like a hydrocele. It is inspiring to be able to finally treat these patients, and to help the Trust to achieve targets. We recently successfully cleared all 78-week waiters. Currently the focus (in Urology) is on diagnostic breaches, mainly patients on a cancer journey. They commonly have superficial bladder cancer and need to get timely surveillance of their condition. Utilising this additional capacity helps us to provide better quality and more timely care for patients, and that makes my job more rewarding."
How are insourcing projects different to routine theatre sessions from your perspective?
"They’re more efficient. The flow is great, and the utilisation is much improved. Because there are fewer lists taking place, there are less pressures. We know recovery beds are available for patients coming out of our theatre and we won’t have any equipment conflicts. Equipment shortages can cause issues during the week – for example, we only have two lasers and if one goes down then it’s challenging trying to plan lists around that. With insourcing lists, we have the people and beds we need and there are fewer patients going through the unit, so everyone is ready – patients and staff.
I also get to easily check up on patients at weekends after their procedures. Because we’re literally 20 yards away from the ward I can keep popping back to check on them in-between procedures. During the week we’re typically running up to 20 lists simultaneously and I’m often in an upstairs theatre, which is a good 5-minute walk away.
Finally, it gives me a chance to do more “core urology” work and it’s nice to do something different to all the complex work during the week."
Do you face any specific challenges as a result of working at weekends/out of hours?
"None at all. InPatient services are still there for any support we may need. We have a pharmacy if patients need drugs to go home with if it is not already kept on the day unit. I have no concerns about patient safety at all. All Trust protocols run exactly the same as they do during the week, and everyone has the access they need to IT systems."
What key skill do you think is important for insourcing work?
"An ability to work flexibly."
What has your experience with Medacs been like?
"Really good, the communication is first class. I deal with the same familiar person every time (Hannah), whether it is about list or case mix planning, invoicing, or timesheets. It’s nice and easy, feels like a very personal service."
What advice would you give to clinicians considering surgical insourcing work?
"Do it, it works well, and it is great to have another way to tackle the backlog post-Covid.
I would also say to be patient with the onboarding process. There are a lot of checks for identity, money laundering, etc that need to be done and that takes more time than you think."
Interested in getting involved in insourcing?
If you are a consultant that would like to join our insourcing teams, please get in touch.
For more information email registration.team@medacs.com
