Company Report: Healthcare at Home
Healthcare at Home For the best part of a decade, former pilot Mike Gordon has worked for Healthcare at Home. He explains how he got involved and why the company is so popular.

Founded in Greenwich in 1992 by Chairman Charles Walsh, Healthcare at Home aims to enhance the way in which clinical and pharmaceutical services are provided to patients, their families and carers.

"We achieve that through a number of innovative services, which all mean patients can be looked after in the comfort of their own homes, as well as delivering innovative services on site within the NHS and the independent sector," explains CEO Mike Gordon, a former pilot who joined the Healthcare at Home revolution in 1995.

"We have grown significantly since 1992 and are now established in 24 locations throughout the UK, with total staff numbers rising to over 750 last year."

Although Mike's leap from pilot to CEO of a medical service company might seem illogical, it was an easy decision for him to make. He explains: "When I left the Air Force, I did what most pilots do, I got a job with one of the airlines and I was waiting to start my course when I met Charles.

"I bought into his vision for the company. I really wanted to do something that I thought would benefit people."

And the company really has made a difference, affirming his decision to change careers. "I think we do a wonderful job. I love it here and feedback from patients is marvellous."

Mike goes on to say that patients have become far more aware of what they want from healthcare services and that patient choice has become a very important part of government and NHS targets.

"80 percent of people would rather be treated in their own homes and, as such, companies like Healthcare at Home can alleviate the pressures on the NHS and their overstretched services," he explains.

"We're finding that, increasingly, patients want to live as normal a life as possible - they
want treatment in the evening, treatment at weekends and we're just trying to respond to those requirements."

In addition to looking after people in the comfort of their own homes, Healthcare at Home also runs clinics for the NHS; it delivers in the region of 500,000 prescriptions to patient homes each year, making it the largest company of its kind. Other distribution companies do not deliver to this number of patients, nor do they have the dedicated staff of Healthcare at Home.

The company has certainly expanded significantly and is, in fact, a regular feature on the
Sunday Times' Fast Track 100, in which it has appeared five times.

However, progress has slowed in recent months as the effects of the global financial crisis begin to take hold, even in sectors that are seen as recession-proof, like healthcare. Mike reports: "It has been an interesting year for us. I think the
healthcare industry in general is insulated from the most severe effects of the financial crisis, but not all of them.

"We are witnessing just how tough market conditions are and have even seen
one of the smaller companies in our market go into administration. It shows that nobody is outside of the effects of what is happening in the economy."

He continues: "But I think that good companies will always remain good companies, regardless of the market conditions. If you are nimble enough and capable enough then you'll see many of the challenges as great opportunities too. I think that is the way we approach everything that we do."

And Mike has every reason to be optimistic of future success. Healthcare at Home achieved all of its major operational key performance indicators and improved sales by 20 percent on the previous year.

He adds: "...I think rather than seeing a reduction in revenues, we are continuing to grow; we are just not growing as fast as we have in the past.

"Part of it is down to the fact that we do an awful lot of trade with pharmaceutical companies and they're feeling the pinch. On top of that, the pressure from organisations like the FDA and EMEA on approval processes delayed the introduction
of new drugs.

"To give you some context, the majority of our growth occurred with the provision of new services and the introduction of new drugs to the market. With the market the way it is, development has slowed.

"Fortunately, we have actually seen a change in attitude by NICE, who I think are taking a much more pragmatic approach to the market now, agreeing terms with pharmaceutical companies that can bring drugs that were previously unfunded to the market so that they become affordable.

"So there are some negatives and some positives," he comments.

A further concern is that, going forward, says Mike, the market is going to become tougher because part of the credit crisis involves the government loaning out large sums of money to financial institutions, money that has got to be repaid at some stage. "One of the ways it will be repaid is perhaps by cutting budgets for the public services like the NHS," he explains.

"I think, over the next three or four years, NHS budgets will not rise by any significant amount and if inflation begins to take hold, then in real terms those budgets might actually decrease."

Mike is sure that whatever happens regarding funding or the economy, Healthcare at Home will continue to be entrepreneurial and innovative. "Moving into new services is the way forward for us," he says. "There are always new treatment regimes coming out, new ways of treating patients, new drugs coming through, so it is an innovative area in which to work in any case."

For the future, Mike explains that there will be a number of changes made to healthcare.

"I think that the NHS and government are actively trying to promote treatment closer to home and patient choice. I think in future we'll find ourselves increasingly working with general practitioners and primary care trusts, in addition to hospitals. I think that care is moving towards a more integrated service where the distinction between hospital and the community is greyer than ever.

"Hospitals have already started providing outreach services and this will require primary and secondary care providers to work very closely together - creating opportunities for companies like ours."

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