Meeting of Mid and West Kent group

12 members attended the meeting at Judith Gardner's house in Maidstone - including new members and those who had been unable to attend for some time aswell as regular attenders. We started by introducing ourselves with a brief description of where we lived/worked and found out that we represented a wide cross-section of therapists with a number working for both NHS and independently. This was beneficial when it came to the topic of liaison between NHS and independent therapists. We discussed the leaflets sent out to be distributed in surgeries, Health Centres, etc. as a form of advertising. These were not felt to be practical as it was felt that in some areas where several therapists were working in close proximity it could cause problems. Therapists new to independent practice were interested to hear how best to acquire clients and "old hands" gave plenty of advice. It was suggested that a system of hiring out equipment to each other could be set up. The recent online debate re: the schools commissioning document was mentioned but not discussed as it was felt that a satisfactory conclusion had been reached prior to our meeting. Finally, as I had been our secretary for some 13 years, I felt that it was time for someone else to take over and Judith Gardner kindly offered her services. Thanks to her and to everyone for attending. Our group is thriving and should continue to do so, with new members joining at regular intervals. Next meeting scheduled for 25th January. Contact gardner.judith@btinternet.com for further details. Cherry O'Neill