• Are you a GP in private practice or are looking to move into private practice?
  
• Do you wish you had a larger referral base of healthcare professionals to refer your patients to for specialized care, i.e., physiotherapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, counselling?
  
• Are you a physiotherapist, counsellor or psychotherapist who wishes more GP's knew about you and your services?

My previous experience has been in both the NHS as well as the private sector, and from my experience working in GP surgeries, I realised that there are a lot of devoted, dedicated and very skilled GP's who are uncertain about what some of us do. They are unable to distinguish between an acupuncturist and chiropractor, or a cognitive-behavioural versus a counsellor. To be fair, many non-GP's face the same dilemma-they know that a patient needs adjunctive care, i.e., "something" else, but are unsure of what that may be.

The type of health professional I am hoping this group attracts and whom I am hoping our core membership includes are the following: 

• You work closely with, or have worked closely with GP's
• You work from an evidence-based model in your respective field
• NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) recommends/recognises your treatment 
• The NHS (National Health Service) would recognise your role/profession and has been known to advertise posts related to what you do

Please note: this is not an Alternative Medicine or Alternative Therapy group, and whether a particular alternative practitioner is welcome to join the group is at the discretion of the organiser, based on the above criteria.

My goal is that this Meet-up will be an educational one, as well as one that will provide us with an opportunity to expand our business/practices. We will have an opportunity to educate one another as to what we do, as well as serve as a network of professionals based around the concept of building our "business".  Most importantly, by networking and sharing knowledge and experience, this group will help us to make appropriate referrals in future that serve the best needs of our patients.

My aim is to facilitate the development of a network amongst a variety of health professionals in private practice. I would like to establish a "network" per geographical area (East London, Central London, West London) ideally with no more than 1-2 specialists per area, i.e., one acupuncturist, one physiotherapist, one cognitive-behavioural therapist per geographical area to allow for the expansion of their respective practices. Once they are up to capacity, we will be able to consider increasing the number of "specialists" in that respective field/area.

One of the challenges that healthcare professionals often face is securing appropriate office space/clinic space. The rationale behind setting up "geographically-based" networking groups is to enable you to network with other local practitioners and possibly find a clinic room together that you can share, etc. Office rent in London can be costly and therefore to be able to share an office/clinic with another healthcare professional may be a viable option.    

A large proportion of our Meet-ups will be casual meetings over coffee/drinks/dinner where we can share our own experiences re-who we are, what we can offer, what we are looking for, etc. I am also hoping to have members volunteer to give presentations on various topics of interest-all related to "going private" and evidence-based care/treatment. 

We will all be bringing a unique set of skills and experience to this group, and my goal is for this knowledge to be shared with one another to help build flourishing practices.

Above all, providing quality care to patients is, and will always be, our most important goal, and you will need to demonstrate that you have the required skills and experience in your respective profession, when you sign up to join.

In order for your request to join be approved:

1. Your main photo needs to be one of your face so that we can all see who we are networking with
   
2. You must respond to all questions in full

I look forward to meeting you at our next Meet-up.

Warm wishes,

Marla