What is Westover Medical?

Westover Medical Ltd operates a chain of multi-disciplinary clinics (polyclinics), providing high-quality primary healthcare. We currently operate four clinics in London in Brompton Cross, Wandsworth, Notting Hill and Chiswick, and plan to open a further 12-15 nationwide within the next 5 years.

Where are your clinics?

Currently we operate clinics at: Brompton Cross, Wandsworth, Notting Hill and Chiswick. We will be opening further clinics in London and nationwide during 2010 and 2011.

Will you be opening clinics in Scotland and Wales?

We hope to open clinics across Britain as part of our UK-wide expansion.

What services do you offer?

Services vary depending on differing patient demands at individual clinics, but it includes access to GPs, dentists and numerous other consultant medical specialists. Westover also offers a range of complementary therapies such as acupuncture and reflexology.

What does it cost?

The basic medical membership subscription is £45.00 per month. Westover's clinics are all built around a multi-disciplinary approach, in order to deliver quality services delivered at the convenience of patients through a standardised and affordable membership system. Our membership packages make private healthcare an affordable and predictably priced service:

Medical Membership - at £45 per month - provides an annual health check, unlimited GP consultations, access to home visits, telephone consultations, prescription delivery, onsite pharmacies and immediate access to Westover's full range of medical and surgical specialists whenever required.

Registered Membership - for a £100 annual registration fee - designed for members who require only occasional use of the clinics' services, this 'pay-as-you-go' membership may be more appropriate and provides access to all the clinics services at rates significantly discounted from normal 'walk-in' rates.

Dental Membership - at £22 per month - available separately or in combination with other membership types, provides an annual dental check-up and two visits per annum to the dental hygienist.

Combined Membership - at £65 per month for an individual, £120 per month for a couple, £60 per month for a child over 13 years old, or £40 per month for a child under 13 years old - provides members with the benefits of both the Medical and the Dental Membership schemes combined.

Who is eligible? Am I eligible if I have health insurance? What if I am from overseas?

Anyone can join our membership schemes, regardless of nationality or domicile. Some members take out their membership schemes to supplement their existing insurance arrangements, while for others, our membership is their only private medical arrangement. We look very carefully at new members existing healthcare provision when they become members to make sure that our services work within the context of their existing pattern of healthcare to minimise costs wherever possible.

Can members gain access to a GP 24 hours a day?

Yes they can, as well as a host of other medical services scheduled and planned to be accessible at their convenience.

Do you have a corporate plan that I can use through work?

Yes we do. You will need to speak to your HR or Benefits Manager. Your company may already have a corporate plan, so check with them. You can of course, just subscribe with an individual or family membership at any time.

Are you linked or owned by any insurance providers?

We are sturdily independent, although we are constantly discussing arrangements with existing medical insurers so that their customers can use our facilities with the minimum administrative burden.

Who can use the Clinics?

Anyone can use our clinics. At £45 per month, the price is designed to attract as many people as possible to become members - this works out at roughly £1.50 per day. Geography is no barrier either - we have members from throughout England subscribed to the clinics.

Do you work with health insurance providers? Can I use my BUPA cover?

Some insurance schemes cover the costs of a GP consultation, others only cover the costs of medical treatment following referral from a GP. However, as part of our membership sign-up process we very carefully assess our member's insurance arrangements to ensure that our membership costs will work out as efficiently as possible for members. The Westover also operates its own insurance schemes as an addition to membership to cover any and all members' further health care requirements (including hospital procedures and long-term care.)

Are you part of the NHS?

No we aren't. We are a wholly independent and private enterprise.

What sort of surgery can you undertake at each clinic?

We have small-scale operating theatres suitable for minor elective procedures, with the full back up of a clinical team. These procedures would all fall in to the category labelled 'day-surgery' in large hospitals and are confined to those procedures from which patients can be sent home on the same day as the operation is carried out. Our day surgery cases are primarily within the ambit of our dermatology, ENT and cosmetic surgeons currently.

If so, what happens if anything goes wrong or if I have a complaint?

We have the full resources of trained surgeons, consultants and medical practitioners on our clinic premises. In the unlikely event of something untoward, we always have experienced medical and surgical personnel on hand. Should members have any complaints about service or service related issues, we have a robust customer feedback, complaint and reaction procedure.

Who regulates you?

The Westover is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (under license E010000654). The conduct of our doctors is regulated by the General Medical Council, our Dentists by the General Dental Council, and our complementary therapists are subject to the regulatory powers of many bodies including the British Acupuncture Council and the British Medical Acupuncture Society, the Faculty of Homeopathy and the British Reflexology Association depending on their discipline.

I heard you offer testing as part of your services to patients. What are they?

The Westover offers a range of diagnostic tests and check-ups from simple tests based on blood samples to annual medicals. In addition the Westover administers the Biophysical250 and CA/CV tests, based on blood markers that provide excellent indicative tools to indicate the early presence of disease and susceptibility to diseases in later life. Our procedures for this significant testing suite are unlike "off the shelf" tests in that we counsel patients before, during and after the testing.

Do you offer cosmetic surgery?

We offer dermatological treatments including laser and aesthetic treatments. We do not currently offer such services as breast augmentation.

What about HIV/Drug/Mental health patients - do you cater for those?

We provide a full range of diagnostic and support services for members who have sexually transmitted diseases and substance dependencies, including the provision of a number of therapeutic approaches to dependency that are uniquely available at our clinics. We also provide a full range of Psychology services and maintain a deep commitment to a range of Counselling approaches, both through a number of our GPs and with counsellors with specialisms ranging from bereavement to career development and educational welfare to life-work balance as well as Psychiatric assessment clinics, psychotherapy and psychiatric treatment of addictions, child psychiatry and family therapy.

I have heard that you are building a Women's Clinic. Are you planning to open a Men's Clinic too?

We currently offer gender-specific wellness courses at all of our clinics, and while we are currently building a separate Women's Clinic to concentrate on the health issues of fertility, pregnancy, childbirth and family development we would be very happy to consider the merits of a Men's Clinic if many of our male members requested this.

How about family planning advice? Will that be a service your clinics offer?

Yes - we do already! This includes a range of services from GP lead family planning advice, specialist gynaecology advice and a range of complementary services including acupuncture for fertility treatments.

Do you take on patients with pre-existing conditions? Will they pay the same?

Yes. Obviously for clinical reasons, we need to take into account pre-existing medical conditions, but this will not affect the costs of a member's subscription. Although our aim is always to make our members as healthy as they can be, many of our healthy members joined us at a time that they were experiencing or fearing illnesses of all sorts.

What about people with chronic illness/problems. Will they be allowed to be members?

We never refuse membership to anyone who we believe would benefit from our services and who can afford to pay for them either personally or through their insurance arrangements.

What sort of alternative therapies do you provide?

An extensive list - from acupuncture to Reiki, homeopathy to reflexology.

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