Montgomeryshire Medical Society

Date 7/1/2009

Rural Health Links | Montgomeryshire Medical Society | EURIPA

The Montgomeryshire Medical Society

The Montgomeryshire Medical Society has grown over the years from a small peripatetic society into an internationally respected rural health organisation. The society was formed in 1982 by a group of GPs who successfully developed a programme of continuing medical education for rural practices in response to a complete lack of formal postgraduate education in the old county of Montgomeryshire.

The founder members believed that GPs should be responsible for their own professional development and their programme was based on the principle of developing educational programmes which were organised for rural GPs by rural GPs. The nature of rural practice meant that practitioners often felt isolated from colleagues and the distances involved resulted in a reluctance to attend postgraduate centres which were based in district general hospitals. This needs-based, rural, bottom-up philosophy has continued to drive the Society since its early days, working on the belief that their urban peers have little understanding of rural health issues.

The Society has held a national Rural Doctor's Conference since 1989 at Gregynog Hall. GPs attend from all over the UK and there has been representation from Europe and beyond. This expanding European connection finally resulted in the formation of a special interest rural group called GRAIPE (Group for Rural and Isolated Practitioners in Europe) whose aims are to promote rural health issues by forming a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency European rural health network; the Institute of Rural Health will be the UK link.

Society members have presented papers at conferences in the UK and abroad. The Secretary of the Society sits on the WONCA Working Party on Rural Practice and is one of only 2 Europeans represented on this important group.

The Society realise that they have established Rural Practice as a discipline in its own right and feel that its involvement in an Institute of Rural Health is a natural progression, ensuring that the lessons learned and their vision is extended across the whole of the UK.