Given the prevalence of the National Health Service (NHS) in the U.K., it can be easy to forget that an increasing number of patients are looking to private healthcare for their needs. This is done for a plethora of reasons including personalised care, convenience and ease of access, and greater choice in who provides services. This is especially the case in private GP services with demand increasing. A significant factor in this shift is due to the rise in NHS GP waiting times getting longer thus delaying addressing healthcare needs.
With respect to the services offered, a private GP is similar to a routine NHS GP. Being a general practitioner, they are often the first step in diagnosing and treating any illness or conditions – whether acute or chronic. The key difference between a private GP and an NHS GP is that private GPs (as the name implies) often work in independently run private clinics and hospitals. Access to such services is also limited with membership, payment, or medical insurance being required – in the case of insurance this is commonly given by an employer through a company-wide insurance plan. This method of access is in contrast to the NHS …