Health care being a hot topic in both the UK and the US, I was
intrigued by a lead in the Economist about private medical treatment for Polish
immigrants, especially in the context of the endless moans that incomers are
swamping the NHS.
So I did some research – not easy because the web-sites are in
Polish!
The Poles are not too impressed with the NHS. They want better
treatment than they get form NHS GPs – short consultations, long waits to get
appointments, no after-hours service- - so they have set up their
own private medical facilities. As far as I can discover’ there are 3 clinics
in London and 2 in Manchester.
The My Medyk in west London has 30,000 patients. Its services
include GP, gynaecology (the Poles out-breed all
other foreigners in the UK), paediatrics,
dermatology, and dentistry/orthodontics. The tariffs seem very affordable. A
consultation with a specialist is £70 (against £125 for the briefest
consultation with a NHS private consultant, as I know to my cost) , and a
dental examination is free (£45 here). A 3-D pregnancy scan is £95. It has a
clean bill-of-health from the Quality Care Commission.
The clinics have the latest in imaging and diagnostic equipment.
Some are open 7 days a week until 9 or 10p.m. And unlike the NHS procedure,
patients can make appointments directly with a specialist without a GP’s
referral.
And they don’t just cater for the well-heeled. Many of the
patients work in the building industry or as cleaners.
Will this generate a demand for reasonably-priced medical facilities
for the natives?
Or even stimulate the NHS bosses to start putting patients
first?
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