Know Your Healthcare Advisor - Oliver Pool
With over a decade's experience in the Healthcare sector, Partner Oliver Pool is an expert in dealing with partnership deeds, joint ventures between practices, and partnership disputes.
Oliver is a commercial and partnerships specialist who spends most of his time advising GP practices. He can help with all aspects of the partnership relationship, from putting in place your GP partnership deed, to advising you on its terms, to dealing with disputes between partners.
What Does Your Role Involve on a Day to Day Basis?
I have acted for GP practices for over 11 years on a range of legal services, including partnership deed, partnership disputes, advice on the terms of NHS contracts, the establishment of superpartnership and other joint venture arrangements between practices, federations, co-operatives and clusters. I have also dealt with over 50 mergers of GP practices in the past few years and been involved in drawing up or amending over 200 GP partnership deeds.
What Do You Do as Part of the Healthcare Team at VWV?
A large part of my caseload is partnership work, both drawing up partnership deeds and advising on disputes between partners. Over the past few years, I have dealt personally with over 50 GP practice mergers (and as a firm we can boast twice that) - and in particular I have recently been involved with the establishment of several super partnerships along the lines of "the Birmingham model" (formation of a large partnership but with high levels of autonomy at practice level).
I am the only solicitor sitting on the healthcare committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. I co-wrote Hot Topics in Financial and Legal Matters for General Practice, an easy-to-read book for GPs and practice managers on financial, accounting and legal matters.
Tell Us Something Not Many People Know About You?
I am a keen rugby player for my team, Old Bristolians RFC. At the age of 38 I also took up gymnastics and learned how to do backflips. Due to an unfortunate accident at a wedding, I have since retired from gymnastics.