About Westover Medical

Westover Medical operates a growing chain of 'polyclinics' delivering a new concept in primary medical care, with a full range of the highest-quality health services all under one roof, provided on a membership basis.

Westover provides general practitioners, consultant medical specialists and surgeons, dentists and complementary therapists in integrated health practices at newly-equipped clinics in Brompton Cross, Chiswick, Notting Hill and Wandsworth.

Westover operates a patient-centred service which stands out in the healthcare sector with convenient opening hours in local neighbourhood clinics where members can take control of their own and their families' health.

Westover's services have been developed for busy families as they need them, when they need them, allowing them to manage their health pro-actively. Although these services are always available on a walk-in basis, they have been designed around a membership structure with schemes designed to suit members' different usage patterns at surprisingly affordable prices. Westover's medical membership provides unlimited access to its GPs for a monthly fee of £45.00.

Company history

Dr Amber Kennard, who previously worked as a cardio-thoracic surgeon at the Hammersmith Hospital, founded Westover in early 2006.

Amber's vision was founded on her personal experience of the Australian structure of integrated, multi-disciplinary polyclinics enabling members to manage their own health and avoid the often unnecessary interventions and complications that hospital care sometimes involves.

Following the completion of the company's first funding round, Westover opened its first clinic at Brompton Cross in December 2006.

Westover acquired the practice of Dr Tim Evans at the Westover House Clinic in August 2007 at which time Tim was appointed Group Clinical Director, a responsibility that he continues to discharge alongside his duties as Apothecary to HM The Queen and the Royal Household.

The company will remain directed by doctors in the best interests of their patients and members. Doctors remain in control of more than 50% of the company's equity.

Having fulfilled its initial business plan ahead of schedule, Westover completed its second funding round in November 2007 to fund its second wave of clinic openings. Westover opened its Notting Hill Clinic in July 2009 and Chiswick followed in January 2009.

Westover will open a further 10-12 clinics across London from 2009 onwards and then plans to rollout clinics in major population centres across the UK.

The Westover clinics

Westover currently operates four clinics at Brompton Cross, Chiswick, Notting Hill and Wandsworth with further clinics under construction.

The Westover - Brompton Cross - opened in December 2006 offering integrated medical services alongside dentists, complementary therapists and in-house consultant specialists. Currently the Clinic has over 1,500 members, with new members signing up at a rate of around 200 per month.

The Westover - Wandsworth - The Wandsworth clinic became part of the Westover Group in August 2007. Wandsworth has three GPs and a full medical services offering, with a strong focus on family care. There are currently over 2,000 members of the Wandsworth clinic which has been operating since 2000.

The Westover - Notting Hill - opened in July 2008. This clinic also provides integrated GP, dental and medical services, complementary therapies and in-house specialists including nutritionists, physiotherapists and dermatologists. There are three full-time GPs and a further 20 professional staff working at the clinic. The clinic is expected to have 2,000 paying members within two years of opening.

The Westover - Chiswick - opened in January 2009. In line with Westover's founding belief in integrated healthcare conveniently located all under one roof, this clinic offers full-time GPs, alongside a wide range of complementary therapies and in-house specialists. The clinic is expected to have 2,000 paying members within two years of opening.

 

Membership programmes

Westover's clinics are all built around a multi-disciplinary approach, in order to deliver quality services at the convenience of patients through a simple and affordable membership system.

The Westover's 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, 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.

Corporate Membership - by arrangement - allows companies and other organisations to have group schemes for their staff, enabling them to receive high standards of healthcare and reduce the time they spend off work.

The Westover model is a radical departure in both healthcare provision and planning and is creating huge interest among both patients and policymakers. Westover's business model provides a live example of how the drive towards the universal adoption of polyclinics in the community could be implemented. (See Lord Darzi's October 2007 interim review 'Our NHS, Our Future' at www.ournhs.nhs.uk.)

No NHS resources are used in Westover's clinics or 'diverted' from the NHS. Westover is funded entirely privately and provides its services only on a private basis. The majority of patients access Westover's specialist services through private health insurance arrangements.

Westover is now setting new benchmarks in many clinical areas:

• In-house minor operation suites - allowing patients to be treated with a range of day-surgery and minor operating procedures as well as cosmetic surgery, without having to attend hospital.
• Annual health checks are built in to membership programmes so that members' health status is benchmarked, allowing their GPs to actively chart routes to enhance and optimise members' health pro-actively.
• Medical and surgical consultant specialists working within the clinics allow immediate referral from GPs to specialists, radically reducing waiting times and significantly enhancing Westover's integrated, holistic approaches to healthcare.

Patient benefits

Westover's clinics have proved popular because they offer convenience, quality and affordability:

Convenience - Westover's clinics offer maximum convenience for the whole family. Open from 8.00am to 7.30pm Monday to Friday and on Saturdays from 10.00am to 2.00pm, the clinics are flexible enough to offer the services that busy families need when they need them. Members also gain 24 hour access to a GP with an out-of-hours home call-out service and a range of other services, including dentistry, nutrition and fitness, dermatology, vaccinations, counselling, psychotherapy and complementary therapies from acupuncture to reflexology all under one roof.

Quality - Westover's philosophy is based around prevention, but the clinics are also equipped with the very latest medical, surgical and dental facilities. These include state-of-the-art diagnostics that make on-the-spot diagnosis possible to get patients back to optimal health as soon as possible.

Affordability - at only £45 per month per member, membership of The Westover is a surprisingly affordable benefit for most working families.

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