Local GPs converge on Hopwood Hall College

GPs and clinicians attend a ‘Hot Topics’ lecture at Hopwood Hall College

Over 100 professionals involved in primary care met at Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale for key training aimed at improving patient care in the surrounding localities.

The Rochdale Health Alliance (RHA), an organisation representing GP practices across Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood, organised the important training event for local GPs and other clinicians to update their training on a wide range of topics impacting primary care, including the increase in diagnosis of COPD and diabetes.

National medical training company, NB Medical, ran the bespoke educational event known as ‘Hot Topics’ and provided experienced trainers to bring the event to Rochdale for the first time.

With events of this size usually being reserved for the big cities, GPs from the surrounding Bury and Oldham areas joined the event to enhance their own area’s patient care.

Alongside lectures and group discussions, local community groups such as Living Well, MIND, HART and Link4 Life held their own exhibition stands. Furthermore, the Urgent Care Centre and Integrated Nursing teams from Pennine Acute and pharmaceutical companies attended in a bid to encourage further learning and networking across the localities.

Sarah Doyle, Training and Education Facilitator at the Rochdale Health Alliance and organiser of the ‘Hot Topics’ event, said: “Bringing to Rochdale what is normally a large and generic event, only hosted in cities, has several benefits for the community. By making it bespoke, GPs were able to identify the unique issues and healthcare topics found in this locality.

“Colleagues were able to learn and update their knowledge and skills together and share ideas, experiences and network. Such an exchange of knowledge and resources can only benefit local patients as it is passed onto them via their individual surgeries.

"RHA as a federation of local GPs, set up by GPs for GPs has a key role in supporting such training initiatives going forward, particularly having developed positive links with Hopwood Hall College.”