Fast track plan means growth for North firm

Feb 24 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

A PROGRAMME aiming to put small businesses on the fast track to growth has helped a County Durham firm double in size in just two years.

Medical Services (North East) is aiming to add two more ambulances to its 11-strong fleet and a further four people to the 22 staff it employs.

The Bishop Auckland-based firm, which supplies non-emergency ambulance transport to a number of the region’s hospitals and health trusts and offers health-based training courses, credits part of its growth to the Fastest 50 business development programme.

Medical Services founder Wayne Hall signed up to the scheme, which use a mixture of workshop sessions and one- to-one support with a business mentor, to help the business grow.

He said: “The best part of the course has been the mentor Paul Storey – we click, we get on, it’s great. It’s great to bounce my ideas off him. There’s no book you can go out and buy – you have ideas in your head but I can run it past Paul.”

Mr Storey is the managing director of MRB Schumag, an engineering company also based in Bishop Auckland.