Specialist healthcare solicitor Andrew Lockhart-Mirams shared his knowledge with medical professionals at an event hosted in Grantham by Duncan & Toplis.

Chartered accountants and business advisers Duncan & Toplis, which has a specialist team of medical accountants, joined with the Lincolnshire Local Medical Committee (LMC) to host an event for GPs and practice managers across the East Midlands.

Guest speaker and co-founder of Lockharts Solicitors, Andrew Lockhart-Mirams, addressed an audience of 75 healthcare professionals about collaborative working between practices as a means to making general practice more sustainable.

The healthcare law specialist focused on the following areas:

• beneficial collaborative working arrangements
• pitfalls to be avoided
• establishing the correct business structure
• the implications of providing medical services through a collaborative entity

The event took place at the Urban Hotel in Grantham on Tuesday 13^th May 2014.

Simon Syddall, Partner at Duncan & Toplis, said: “The purpose of the event was to put forward ideas on sharing back room resources, forming groups for the purposes of bidding for local authority tenders and the pitfalls to watch out for in areas such as pensions.

“GPs face uncertainty over contracting, a squeeze on income, escalating costs and an ever increasing administrative burden. In short, they are expected to do more for at best the same or more likely less funding.

“Andrew is a highly respected figure in the arena of healthcare law.  It was a privilege to welcome him to Grantham and to be able to give our clients access to such pertinent information from a top expert.”

Notes to editors

• Duncan & Toplis was established in 1925 and has since grown into one of the largest independent firms of chartered accountants in the Midlands.
• The firm was named ICAEW East Midlands Medium Accountancy Firm of the Year in March 2014.
• Duncan & Toplis appears in the top 30 UK accountancy practices list published by Accountancy magazine.
• The company has 10 offices throughout the East Midlands: in Grantham, Boston, Lincoln, Louth, Melton Mowbray, Newark, Skegness, Sleaford, Spalding and Stamford.
• Duncan & Toplis offers a wide range of services to small to large-sized family businesses, from accountancy, audit and tax to payroll, human resources and computer services.
• The business employs around 350 staff, of whom 85 are currently engaged in professional training.
• The Lincolnshire LMC is a statutory body based in Lincoln which offers advice and support to GPs and their businesses.
• Lockharts Solicitors are specialist healthcare solicitors working only for contractors and providers who are GPs, dentists, optometrists, community pharmacists and care homes.

For media information please contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
07780 735071
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
[Duncan77Lockhart]