Kathie Applebee, NVUG Chairman

I have been involved with the NVUG since its formation in 1984, having previously worked for VAMP (see below). I have served on the National Panel as the South-West representative since 2005 and on the Executive Committee. I am also, through my consultancy services (see below), the events’ organiser for the NVUG, organising (and lecturing at) the annual two-day national conference and regional roadshows held throughout the UK.

Practice Consultancy Services

I have been working as a psychologist and management consultant specialising in general practice since 1991. To date, I have worked with more than 650 practices in the UK. This role involves working on a consultancy basis with practices and the wider NHS (including Connecting for Health), lecturing and writing on a wide range of topics, and organising events for the NVUG.

Tamar Valley Health (previously the Callington and Gunnislake Group Practice)

In April 2004 I reduced my consultancy work to part-time, and became Strategic Management Partner (part-time) at Tamar Valley Health. This GMS practice, based at two large health centres, provides health care to approximately 16,500 patients in a mainly rural area in East Cornwall. As well as the usual range of services, it provides dispensing and minor injuries services at both sites, and opened a practice-owned pharmacy at one site in 2010, of which I am director and company secretary. The practice achieved the RCGP QPA award in 2004 and full points in the first year of the QOF, and is actively involved in locality commissioning. It is also currently involved in a national tele-health pilot. The practice uses Vision and contributes data to the GPRD. It is a paperless as possible, using a wide range of software to support this, and employs two dedicated IT staff members.

RCGP

I am very involved with GP commissioning, and am one of the RCGP’s Clinical Commissioning Champions. I am also a founder member of the RCGP General Practice Foundation Manager’s Group.

VAMP Health (now INPS), 1986-91

I started as Training Manager, when VAMP Health (now INPS) had just 60 practices using its GP computer system. As the company grew, I became Customer Services Manager, with responsibility for training, helpline and documentation, and then GP Product Manager, commissioning development of all GP software in accordance with practice and legislative requirements. I helped establish VAMP Research, which is now the GPRD (General Practice Research Database). I left to set up my own consultancy, by which time the company had more than 2,000 customer practices. While at VAMP, I completed a part-time psychology MSc (dissertation topic: The attitudes of GPs towards the use of computers in general practice).