Dr Koralage shows great promise as an influencer of the future. She works beyond her clinical sessions to drive improvements not only at her practice, Ardleigh Surgery in Colchester, Essex, part of the Colte Partnership, but also in the wider community.
In 2018, Dr Koralage helped bring the Next Generation GP programme to Essex and secured funding for 40 early-career GPs, trainee GPs and medical students to attend the six-week leadership course. In a bid to address recruitment problems in her area, she held talks for students at Anglia Ruskin Medical School to promote general practice as a career.
Closer to home, Dr Koralage implemented a system in her GP practice whereby the duty doctor triages phone calls from patients with minor problems and those requesting visits and emergency appointments. This increased the number of problems that were resolved on the phone, especially for housebound patients who struggle to visit the surgery.
And Dr Koralage often literally goes the extra mile to help her patients. It’s not uncommon for her to make home visits at the end of a long day.
What colleagues say: ‘Nadeeja is an exceptional GP trainee with many skills and achievements. As a fellow trainee, she inspired me to get involved with leadership training’ Dr Sadriye Eriksson, GP, Colchester
