Melissa Morris: An entrepreneur shaking up the NHS By Kelly Dolan I
think we can all vouch for the fact that the healthcare industry could benefit from new methods of running their system more effectively, particularly in terms of recruitment and choosing
the best possible practitioners for all round patient satisfaction. In this case, 26 year old Melissa Morris stepped in and offered a solution in the form of Network Locum, an online network of highly skilled locum Doctors taking the pain out of GP recruitment. I speak with Melissa on how she set up and what the future holds.
“I previously worked for Mckinsey consulting and was eager to get started on investment bank projects. I then got dragged onto a healthcare project teaching GP’s how to run a practice cost effectively. It turns out it was my favourite project and before I knew it I had esteemed Doctors listening to me at 21 on how to change their current system or start their own practice.
“Since that first project I continued to receive NHS assignments and doctors would always complain about the cost of locum staff, with agencies charging 30 per cent commission. Along with that, the administrative tasks were a burden and you weren’t always guaranteed a good doctor. I then started looked at other industries such as MyBuilder and RateMyTradesmen and the seed was planted.”
One investor approached me and said ‘I like the idea but you’re young – why don’t I set it up?’
Still in her early twenties, Melissa completed one last year at Mckinley then applied for a role within the NHS to get an understanding from the inside. “If you’re going it alone as a start-up you have to learn where the money flows and who to talk to. I ruthlessly networked for 6 months and when I put forward the idea for Network Locum and asked whether it would work I received a good response.”
It was then a chance meeting with Entrepreneur Jamie Murray Wells that determined Melissa’s next step. Jamie had founded Glasses Direct at university, the largest online retailer for prescription spectacles. By 25 he has revolutionised the optical market place, with the company boasting a multi million pound turnover. “His business was disruptive and completely shook up the retail space for glasses. We had a chat and Jamie wanted to be my mentor and after a few months he offered to invest. I jumped at the chance and the first thing I did with the money was build the website. I then had 14 practices in London to test it, drawing on my contacts from McKinley and the NHS.”
Melissa tells me that for any new entrepreneur approaching investors is a full time job, along with trying to keep the business afloat. “Before Jamie I just had an idea, and if there is no product people become parasitic. One investor approached me and said ‘I like the idea but you’re young – why don’t I set it up and put you on a salary?’ Another investor said I should return back to my job at the NHS to look for ideas and basically become a voluntary researcher for him. It all became very dubious and if I hadn’t met Jamie I’m not sure what I would have done.”
Speaking on the rougher aspects of developing Network Locum, Melissa tells me one of her biggest challenges was technology. “I needed a website and after being charged
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