Williams Medical Supplies News and Views
Last Updated: 03/02/2012
Hwyl Fawr, Steve!
Posted 03/02/2012
Steve Dunn the CEO of Williams Medical will be retiring in 2012 and Ian Williamson, the current Non Exec chairman, will become Executive Chairman. Ian will take over day to day responsibility for the business but Steve Dunn will remain with the company during a transition period.
Williams has successfully navigated through the worst recession since the Second World War, and consequent...
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Hwyl Fawr, Steve!
Posted 03/02/2012
Steve Dunn the CEO of Williams Medical will be retiring in 2012 and Ian Williamson, the current Non Exec chairman, will become Executive Chairman. Ian will take over day to day responsibility for the business but Steve Dunn will remain with the company during a transition period.
Williams has successfully navigated through the worst recession since the Second World War, and consequently their financial position and investor support remains strong. Williams have been successful in acquiring emerging corporate healthcare players and in building strong, often solus, relationships with key suppliers. The business has developed a committed team at executive and operational level and is confident it has in place a successful strategy to unlock further growth in the GP sector.
During Steve Dunn's three years in the Welsh company, the business has worked hard to improve the service provided to customers, and to position itself for the emerging changes in the Health Care Sector. Williams Medical Supplies is in a strong financial position and Ian takes over a business that is well prepared for future growth in the Primary Care market.
Williams Medical Supplies signs exclusive deal with Abermed on off-shore healthcare
Posted 06/01/2012
Two leading medical companies have joined forces to improve healthcare in the off-shore energy industry.
Williams Medical Supplies has signed an exclusive partnership with remote medical service specialists Abermed to calibrate and repair all its sick bay equipment in the North Sea.
Medics will be better equipped for any incident in primary, emergency and occupational healthcare...
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Williams Medical Supplies signs exclusive deal with Abermed on off-shore healthcare
Posted 06/01/2012
Two leading medical companies have joined forces to improve healthcare in the off-shore energy industry.
Williams Medical Supplies has signed an exclusive partnership with remote medical service specialists Abermed to calibrate and repair all its sick bay equipment in the North Sea.
Medics will be better equipped for any incident in primary, emergency and occupational healthcare, with more efficient servicing and data handling by a dedicated team of highly qualified technicians at Williams' pioneering Calibration and Repair Centre in Wales.
Abermed Limited, headquartered in Aberdeen, provides market-leading medical support services to the energy industry, keeping oil and gas workers safe and healthy all year round.
The next job is to look at standardising its equipment across the fleet of oil rigs, installations and vessels it services.
Ross Haworth, Managing Director of Abermed, said innovation and collaboration were vital to success.
"Oil and gas exploration and production is a global industry which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so round-the-clock access to professional medical services is essential and the equipment needs to be in top condition," he said.
"The ultimate aspiration is to benefit the industry and make life easier for the medics with better equipped sick bays."
He added: "One of our underlying philosophies is to be client and solution focused and that is exactly the same at Williams. We have built a great relationship and streamlined what was a disjointed, reactive process into a proactive, one-stop-shop that tells the medic when a piece of equipment is due for service, repair or replacement in advance. This provides the assurance that everything will work properly when it is needed.
"The level of service is much better than its competitors, there is an innovative culture and we were impressed us with its creativity and ideas in finding new and improved solutions."
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams Medical Supplies said: "We believe this is the beginning of an exciting and innovative new partnership.
"Abermed is extremely well known in the oil and gas industry, and has experienced year on year growth for the past five years, while Williams is the leading provider of medical supplies and services to the UK healthcare market."
Abermed is part of the International SOS group of companies. International SOS is the world's leading international healthcare, medical assistance, medical and security assistance, and concierge services company.
Cloud procurement saves GPs time and money
Posted 01/12/2011
GPs have hailed a pioneering 'cloud procurement' system as vital to the future of their practices.
Around 25 GP-led multi-practice companies and 50 buying groups have now signed up to the unique online tools suite, launched by Williams Medical Supplies.
With millions of consumable items flowing into primary care each year, they claim streamlining procurement through one source h...
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Cloud procurement saves GPs time and money
Posted 01/12/2011
GPs have hailed a pioneering 'cloud procurement' system as vital to the future of their practices.
Around 25 GP-led multi-practice companies and 50 buying groups have now signed up to the unique online tools suite, launched by Williams Medical Supplies.
With millions of consumable items flowing into primary care each year, they claim streamlining procurement through one source has saved time and money.
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams, says pre-negotiated prices and terms remove the need to shop around. In addition, management information allows GPs to peer review shopping habits in real time, and practice managers can quickly check orders for accuracy and efficiency.
Network Healthcare Solutions, a group of 10 practices on the M6 corridor, was among the first to move all its procurement to Williams's new system.
Mandie Townend, Director of Nursing and Clinical Governance at NH Solutions says: "We didn't have anything like this before and it was a big problem for us. Staff were ordering large quantities of items from a number of different suppliers with no forward planning, which resulted in us holding unnecessary expensive stock of consumables and valuable time wasted processing invoices.
"This system is fast, efficient and reliable. We have saved money as an organisation, the time taken to manage purchasing has reduced overall and our purchasing is more closely linked as an organisation.
"GP interest in the value Williams brings to practices is increasing rapidly. If they are not already talking to Williams about cost savings and buying group pricing, then it will only a matter of time."
Williams Medical Supplies is the leading provider of medical supplies and services to the UK healthcare market and ships 2.5m items a year into primary care 13,000 a day.
Steve Dunn, adds: "We have seen a sharp rise in demand, both from GP groups emerging as corporate healthcare providers and from buying groups all chasing efficient procurement.
"What we've found is practices don't have a clue what they have in their stock cupboards, and powerful management information can make the difference between business success and failure in primary care."
Home care firms must allay fears over personal budgets
Posted 26/11/2011
Home care providers were today warned to show "robust resilience" in facing the challenges of personal budgets.
Leading healthcare distributor Williams Medical Supplies believes fears about the government's plan to roll out personal budgets in October 2012 are unfounded.
The company has launched a drive to seal tighter alliances with home care providers, to enable them to make...
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Home care firms must allay fears over personal budgets
Posted 26/11/2011
Home care providers were today warned to show "robust resilience" in facing the challenges of personal budgets.
Leading healthcare distributor Williams Medical Supplies believes fears about the government's plan to roll out personal budgets in October 2012 are unfounded.
The company has launched a drive to seal tighter alliances with home care providers, to enable them to make greater in-roads into the market.
Some critics claim the scheme will be too expensive to implement, patient choice will be limited, and existing services could be destabilised if enough patients choose to spend their money elsewhere.
Others fear it is more susceptible to fraud and that patients will put their health at risk by choosing non-medical, or less medical, forms of care.
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams, says: "I can understand anxieties about personal budgets, but the challenges ahead are far from insurmountable and certainly outweighed by the potential benefits to patients.
"Home care providers must be robustly resilient in the face of concerns - let's not forget this scheme aims to maintain personal independence as an alternative to residential, nursing home care or over long stays in hospital."
Dunn believes efficiency holds the key to success and that a strategic supply partnership can reduce waste and save time and money from online ordering and reduced invoicing to the use of powerful management information.
He adds: "One way home care providers can keep control over this is by streamlining procurement through a reliable, experienced supply partner.
"By reducing auditing complexity and benefiting from better terms, they can reassure the government and stakeholders that the money is being well spent."
Under Pressure
Posted 20/11/2011
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams Medical Supplies, explains why calibration is crucial to tackling hypertension.
Practice managers are only too aware of the vital role their surgeries play in the early identification of hypertension - sometimes called the silent killer. And they are well informed on what constitute the right tools for the job and the right environment for accurate results.
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Under Pressure
Posted 20/11/2011
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams Medical Supplies, explains why calibration is crucial to tackling hypertension.
Practice managers are only too aware of the vital role their surgeries play in the early identification of hypertension - sometimes called the silent killer. And they are well informed on what constitute the right tools for the job and the right environment for accurate results.
But what they may not be aware of, given that the issue has not been highlighted in the media until very recently, is the significant difference that accurate test and calibration can make.
In an age when the use of more advanced equipment in practices grows by the day, the demand for accuracy, for reducing risk to an absolute minimum, has never been more critical.
One recent study at Oxford University found one in seven BP machines provided inaccurate readings at least 4mmHg away from reference value. However mercury and digital devices were more likely than aneroid models to be within 3mmHg of the reference standard.
Given the availability of accurate digital BP machines which the study showed had greater mechanical resilience, GPs could replace aneroid devices for the practice and the home settings.
One example is the pioneering OMRON M24/7 ABPM, which has been designed to provide accurate blood pressure monitoring around the clock.
The device is linked up to software back in the surgery where the results are downloaded and stored or it can be forwarded on to a specialist for more expert analysis. The cost saving comes from less drugs needing to be prescribed to patients.
Once you have the right equipment in place, it is important to ensure it is properly tested and calibrated, using a trusted supplier.
I have said before that doctors should take as clinical an approach to examining the credentials of their calibration company as they do when examining a patient.
Williams Medical Supplies has become the UK's biggest provider of test and calibration services to the primary care sector, because the training and capability of its staff, and the quality and integrity of the apparatus they use are unrivalled.
Blood pressure problems are no Cinderella issue, they are a major health priority that GPs are increasingly expected to identify early.
In 2009, over 180,000 people - one in three deaths in the UK - were from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Around one in five male deaths and one in eight female deaths were from coronary heart disease (CHD) a total of around 82,000. Strokes caused a further 49,000 deaths.
However, despite being on the front line of such a serious problem, the primary care setting can create difficulties in accurate diagnosis which research revealed is a bigger problem than at first thought.
The term white coat syndrome' has been coined to describe the rise of a patient's blood pressure when visiting a doctor's surgery, which can drastically affect diagnosis.
It is reported to occur in up to 30 per cent of diagnosed patients, who actually had blood pressure within the normal range when measured over 24 hours.
In order to reduce inaccurate readings and to identify early those at real risk, NICE announced a change to its hypertension guidelines, recommending home measurement, or Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM). The aim is to decrease incorrect diagnoses and mis-prescribing of expensive blood pressure drugs.
On average, when your blood pressure is taken at home the top (systolic) number can be around 10mmHg lower than it would be if taken by a doctor and 5mmHg lower on the bottom (diastolic) number. For some people this difference can be even greater.
Practice managers must support GPs in ABPM monitoring, by ensuring the availability of sophisticated technology some of which transfers patients' results directly to a doctor's PC.
GPs will also be able to see how well prescribed medicines are working at various points throughout the day, and whether they need to change or adjust medicines.
As the UK's leading provider of medical supplies and services, Williams Medical Supplies has strong bonds with manufacturers of ABPM equipment, which provide precise measurement information, allowing quick analysis and interpretation of data.
For free onsite demonstrations of ABPM equipment or more information about Williams Medical Supplies, please call our sales team on 01685 846666.
Five Minute PAD Test for Primary Care
Posted 12/11/2011
GPs and nurses can screen 450 per cent more patients for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) than current methods, and more accurately, with a new five minute test.
Routine Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) screening should be undertaken in primary care to diagnose patients and identify those at greater risk from life threatening conditions.
Previously, qualified clinicians were needed t...
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Five Minute PAD Test for Primary Care
Posted 12/11/2011
GPs and nurses can screen 450 per cent more patients for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) than current methods, and more accurately, with a new five minute test.
Routine Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) screening should be undertaken in primary care to diagnose patients and identify those at greater risk from life threatening conditions.
Previously, qualified clinicians were needed to use a vascular Doppler and an aneroid blood pressure monitor, which takes 30 minutes per patient.
Now a major innovation the Huntleigh dopplex ABIlity - reduces this test to just five minutes and makes it much easier to produce an accurate clinical ABI evaluation. It also removes the need for a highly skilled clinician, and is portable so that tests can even be carried out in a patient's home.
In the UK, around one in five men and one in eight women aged 50-75 have PAD. This equates to circa 1.6 million men and 1.1 million women and it becomes more common with age.
Huntleigh has developed interactive educational tools to support learning in practice, including an ABI guide to screening for PAD, and practices are taking advantage of free demonstrations.
Huntleigh has signed a preferred supplier partnership with Williams Medical Supplies to sell and distribute this equipment to GPs in primary care on an initial 12 month basis.
Dr Jon Evans, of Huntleigh Healthcare, said: "This is a major breakthrough in faster ABI evaluation that will improve diagnosis rates, patient experience, and will save the NHS time and money."
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams Medical Supplies said: "Williams is very happy to work with Huntleigh and this product is especially innovative. We are pleased with the recognition of our commitment to excellence in customer service, support, knowledge and value."
Clinical Approach
Posted 11/10/2011
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams Medical Supplies, explains why practices need to examine equipment testers closely.
The increasing use of electronics in GP practices is a development that presents greater challenges for those engaged in test and calibration of equipment. It also lays upon practice managers a heavier burden of care in whom they appoint to carry out those duties on their beha...
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Clinical Approach
Posted 11/10/2011
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams Medical Supplies, explains why practices need to examine equipment testers closely.
The increasing use of electronics in GP practices is a development that presents greater challenges for those engaged in test and calibration of equipment. It also lays upon practice managers a heavier burden of care in whom they appoint to carry out those duties on their behalf.
We are talking of sophisticated technology that transfers patients' results directly to PCs. The greater reliance on such advanced data transmission means the demand to ensure testing is accurate is all the more vital, since there is less scope for intercepting mistakes than when traditional, paper-orientated methods are employed.
The problem for surgeries is that there are still too many companies out there who are operating with inadequate training and equipment, and the more technical the field becomes, the more likely they are to make potentially serious errors.
Where, then, lies the liability when something goes wrong that might have a damaging impact on patient welfare, may even endanger lives? It is almost certain, I'd suggest, that the buck would finally rest with the practice, since it was the practice that brought in what I call the 'calibration cowboys' in the first place.
GPs have a responsibility to cut out waste and keep down costs, and practice managers are generally assiduous on their behalf. But seeking to do so by employing people not fit to do such a critically important job as test and calibration could turn out to be expensive.
That is why doctors should take as clinical an approach to examining the credentials of their calibration company as they do when examining a patient.
Williams Medical Supplies has become the UK's biggest provider of test and calibration services to the primary care sector, not by offering something on the cheap or wrapping it up in fancy presentation. It has done so because the training and capability of its staff and the quality and integrity of the apparatus they use are unrivalled.
The proof of that is, as they say, in the pudding. In January Williams became the exclusive UK calibration and repair centre for CareFusion's MicroMedical spirometers, and with numbers growing steadily we now check and repair around 150 items each month.
Between them, our 15 on-the-road specialist engineers visit more than 2,500 surgeries each year and annually test and calibrate approaching 100,000 individual items. Behind that team are 17 equally highly qualified technicians back at base, as well as eight workshop and support staff.
Furthermore, because we are the country's leading supplier of medical equipment we have strong bonds with manufacturers, which means we are able to work closely with them to ensure that our own test procedures meet their standards and that our training is kept constantly up-to-date.
All these points are made not with the aim of banging the Williams drum. They are meant to underline that, in an age when the use of more advanced equipment in practices grows by the day, the demand for accuracy, for reducing risk to an absolute minimum, has never been more critical.
What practices need as well as QOF points for having equipment regularly checked is confidence that patients are not being put at risk, and that the running of the practice is not to be dogged with assorted aggravations and problems arising from equipment that has not been properly serviced or - as has been found in some cases - not serviced at all.
Such peace of mind can only come from GPs and practice managers knowing they have brought in people just as dedicated and qualified in their jobs as they are in theirs.
Williams Medical Supplies and Assura Medical Sign Strategic Partnership
Posted 15/09/2011
Williams Medical Supplies and Assura Medical today announce a strategic supply partnership to kickstart a new era of professional procurement and efficiency in primary care.
Leading medical supplies and services firm Williams will supply Assura Medical's clinics across the UK with a wide range of equipment, medical consumables and pharmaceutical products, as well as a range of value add...
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Williams Medical Supplies and Assura Medical Sign Strategic Partnership
Posted 15/09/2011
Williams Medical Supplies and Assura Medical today announce a strategic supply partnership to kickstart a new era of professional procurement and efficiency in primary care.
Leading medical supplies and services firm Williams will supply Assura Medical's clinics across the UK with a wide range of equipment, medical consumables and pharmaceutical products, as well as a range of value added services such as equipment testing and calibration. This includes new build and specialist services such as minor operations, GP out-of-hours and sexual health.
Assura Medical is a leading provider of NHS services, working in partnership with groups of GPs across the country. Through its network of 25 joint venture GP Provider Companies (GPCos), Assura Medical currently partners with over 1,500 GPs, representing three million patients.
Assura Medical has negotiated central pricing on all items available through Williams up to 17,000 lines of stock. The company may also be able to offer these benefits to non-GPCo members in the future.
Williams has existing relationships with around 9,000 GP surgeries and other primary care organisations and celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, so it has unrivalled expertise and capacity to deliver.
Williams CEO Steve Dunn, CEO said: "We are delighted to announce this significant strategic partnership with a key, long-term business partner in the primary care sector, and we look forward to expanding this strong relationship further.
"We have the capacity to go in and fit out absolutely everything a GP practice needs, and I am excited that in Assura Medical we believe we have found the perfect partner. We are pleased with the recognition of our ability to deliver flexibility in the supply chain, our commitment to excellence in customer service, support and knowledge, and the commercial proposal at competitive market rates."
Assura Medical chose to partner with Williams for the next two years after finding huge synergy between the companies.
Bart Johnson, chief executive of Assura Medical, said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with Williams, the UK's leading distributor of medical disposables, equipment and pharmaceuticals to the primary care market.
"We are committed to providing patients with high quality, easy and convenient access to NHS services and we believe that our partnership with Williams will help us to continue to do so effectively."
Williams Medical Supplies bids for more supplier alliances in primary care
Posted 04/08/2011
Leading healthcare distributor Williams Medical Supplies has launched a drive to seal further and tighter alliances with suppliers and manufacturers.
It says the move for more exclusive deals will enable its partners to make greater in-roads into the 'attractive' primary care market.
The launch marks the landmark 25th anniversary of Williams, which today acts for over 350 market...
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Williams Medical Supplies bids for more supplier alliances in primary care
Posted 04/08/2011
Leading healthcare distributor Williams Medical Supplies has launched a drive to seal further and tighter alliances with suppliers and manufacturers.
It says the move for more exclusive deals will enable its partners to make greater in-roads into the 'attractive' primary care market.
The launch marks the landmark 25th anniversary of Williams, which today acts for over 350 market-leading equipment, product and pharma companies selling and distributing to around 9,000 GP practices.
Steve Dunn, CEO of Williams Medical Supplies, says: "We already have a strong presence in the increasingly attractive primary care market.
"But we want to further that position by offering exclusive channel access to suppliers and manufacturers who in turn will gain greater and more profitable market penetration.
"Despite the debate over the Health and Social Care Bill, the NHS reforms will create unprecedented opportunities for suppliers to profit in primary care, where they can provide high quality and better value for money.
"I'm not saying we can work magic, but we have the ability to provide the best possible route to market, together with unparalleled customer support and product knowledge.
"That makes Williams the go-to company for any manufacturer or supplier looking to succeed in the primary care sector."
Dunn claims strategic partnerships have appeal for sector purchasers because they provide what they most want not only increased transparency and comparability based on information provision, but distribution which effectively reduces complexity, credit risk, invoicing and stockholding costs and loss of supply chain visibility.
Dozens of key manufacturers have already signed up to exclusive deals. They include global spirometry specialists CareFusion, for whom Williams sells and distributes all products in its primary care MicroMedical range, as well as providing all the UK repair and servicing, customer hotline and IT support services.
Nick Hill, CareFusion's UK & Ireland commercial manager says: "We are extremely delighted to have chosen Williams as our strategic partner, as it displays a professional approach and has unparalleled coverage of CareFusion's current customer base.
"We are thoroughly looking forward to further success for both parties, but most importantly to ensuring our customers receive increased support and the highest level of professionalism from Williams."
Among other big names to 'sign up' are LEC for refrigeration, GE for digital imaging and Huntleigh Healthcare for diagnostics equipment.
Long-serving Practice Managers Sought!
Posted 05/07/2011
Williams Medical Supplies has launched a 25th anniversary appeal to find practice managers who were customers in the early years.
The company wants to hear from practice managers who worked with Williams more than 20 years ago, to share their stories and memories.
CEO Steve Dunn said: "Our 25th anniversary is a special occasion and it would be great to celebrate this milestone w...
Read the whole article
Long-serving Practice Managers Sought!
Posted 05/07/2011
Williams Medical Supplies has launched a 25th anniversary appeal to find practice managers who were customers in the early years.
The company wants to hear from practice managers who worked with Williams more than 20 years ago, to share their stories and memories.
CEO Steve Dunn said: "Our 25th anniversary is a special occasion and it would be great to celebrate this milestone with practice managers who were working with us from the very start."
Please email Williams Medical Supplies at 25years@wms.co.uk or call 01685 846666.
