Our entrepreneurs: Joe Kamp

In our latest #OurEntrepreneurs profile we meet cohort 7 Clinical Entrepreneur Joe Kamp, international medical graduate (IMG) and radiology trainee.

Tell us a bit about yourself 

I’m Joe, a clinical entrepreneur, international medical graduate (IMG) and radiology trainee with 9 years of clinical experience across two healthcare systems. I currently reside in London with my greyhound, Fergal, having moved from New Zealand in 2017 to pursue personal and professional opportunities.

My passion lies in scalable healthcare solutions aimed at delivering high-quality healthcare for all. I co-founded TrewLink to make the NHS more ‘IMG friendly’ and tackle systemic issues in the recruitment and retention of foreign staff.

Why did you apply to the programme and what are you looking forward to?

I have met a number of clinical entrepreneurs from previous cohorts and witnessed the positive impact this programme had on their innovation’s trajectory as well as their personal development.

I believe in my innovation and want it to benefit from the programme’s resources and network so we can build, deploy and scale faster across the NHS.

I hope the programme will provide the following support to me and my innovation:

• Providing valuable feedback and guidance to help us find product-market fit earlier.
• Build and deploy faster by accessing the innovation community that has grown around the programme.
• Help improve our resilience to setbacks by broadening my set of entrepreneurial skills.
• Open doors to opportunities for collaboration and investment.

Tell us about your innovation  

TrewLink is a start-up that aims to improve recruitment practices and retention rates of international medical graduates (IMGs) in the NHS.

As an IMG myself, I understand the challenges that come with trying to integrate into a new healthcare system. IMGs often face barriers that prevent them from achieving their full potential, such as limited access to training opportunities, language and cultural barriers, and a lack of early support in the workplace.

To address these issues, the TrewLink platform connects IMGs and Trusts together and provides enhanced induction, comprehensive pastoral support, and ongoing clinical training. By making it easier for IMGs to integrate into the workforce, we can ultimately improve the quality of care for patients across the NHS.

TrewLink has developed a system whereby Trusts are incentivised to become IMG-Friendly employers so that international graduates are able to thrive in the NHS and live more fulfilling lives. This allows Trusts to attract the best talent, improve productivity, reduce staff turnover and eliminate locum dependency.

We have grown a community of over 20,000 international doctors and we’re ready to end the NHS workforce crisis.

What motivates you? 

As an entrepreneur, I am motivated by my natural inclination to solve problems and my passion for making a positive impact at scale. The issue we are addressing with TrewLink is massive, and I find a great sense of satisfaction in working towards a solution that benefits many.

As both a doctor and a healthcare user, I firmly believe that access to free healthcare is essential for a healthy society. The NHS’ reliance on locums is not sustainable, which further fuels my drive to help find a solution to these issues.

What are your ambitions for the next year?

We hope to conduct a pilot programme with our first cohort of international medical graduates and apply to the NHS innovation accelerator. We are looking to secure our first round of funding and scale across the NHS.

In the future, we plan to expand our services to include nursing and allied health professionals, so that we can become a comprehensive workforce supplier.

We understand the urgency of the problem we are trying to solve and hope to achieve meaningful impact within a year. We are also keen to collaborate with stakeholders across the NHS to ensure our solution is effective and sustainable.

Why do you think innovation is important in healthcare?

Healthcare by its nature is difficult to scale and resources are limited. Innovation has the ability to revolutionise the efficiency of a system, improving health outcomes and patient access to healthcare.

How can we find out more?

We would like as many people as possible to join us on our journey to ending the NHS workforce crisis.

You can access our platform, social media and learning academy via this link: https://linktr.ee/trewlink_img

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