Patients shun NHS for clinics run by Polish GPs: Cut-price private surgeries where you can see a doctor seven days a week
- Despite charging £70 a visit, west London clinic already has almost 6,000 Britons on its books and offers 30-minute slots
- Two thirds of NHS patients have to wait more than 48 hours for doctor’s appointment and few slots are available outside regular working week
- My Medyk also offers dental surgery, varicose vein surgery, Botox, hypnotherapy, acupuncture and counselling sessions
- Clinic was founded five years ago by two Polish doctors but now employs 50 staff, the majority of whom are Poles
By Francesca Infante and Sophie Borland
A private doctor’s surgery run by Poles is attracting thousands of patients who have given up on the NHS. Open seven days a week, usually until 11pm, the clinic gives half-hour appointments – three times longer than usual. And, despite charging £70 a visit, it already has almost 6,000 Britons on its books. Customers are welcomed into the spotless and modern centre by friendly receptionists whose motto is to ‘put patients first’.
Clinic Manager Radek Przypis in one of three state of the art dental treatment rooms at the My Medyk Polish Clinic
Radek Przypis, who manages the My Medyk clinic in West London, said he realised there was ‘a gap in the market because NHS care was so poor’. He added: ‘You have heard the stories about people going to GPs and whatever is wrong with you they give you a paracetamol and tell you to go away. ‘People find it hard to get help. They want to come to one place that they know, where they know what to expect, get the treatment and from people they trust.‘Our patients are our customers, they are the most important things for us, that is our company motto. Perhaps that is not always the same attitude with the NHS.’
Research shows that two thirds of Health Service patients have to wait more than 48 hours for a doctor’s appointment and few slots are available outside the regular working week.
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