‘Netflix style’ health subscription for fast access to doctors, tests and scans at hospital near Aylesbury

For the cost of a coffee subscription or access to your favourite streaming service, a private hospital near Aylesbury is offering a new subscription-based health service that anyone can sign up to and access unlimited consultant and GP appointments, tests, checks and scans.

In a move designed to shake up the traditional private medical insurance model that has dominated private healthcare for the last 80 years, subscribers to MyWay, offered by The Chiltern Hospital, in Great Missenden, will be able to access its services within 48 hours.

Traditionally, patients either opt for private medical cover or pay for their own treatment. But the new model, pioneered by by Circle Health Group, which runs The Chiltern Hospital, offers a third way, through an affordable monthly subscription.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Paul Manning said: “From £19.99 a month, patients will be able to get fast access to doctors, tests and scans. We have brought together almost every part of the treatment process into one easy-to-use app.”

Should a user discover that surgery is the best option for them, membership of MyWay also offers discounts to hospital treatment and physiotherapy at The Chiltern Hospital.

Mr Manning added: “For a small fee each month, you are guaranteed to get access to specialist care. We know that patients are becoming increasingly worried about waiting. With MyWay you don’t have to worry because whatever you need is ready and waiting to be accessed.”

The MyWay service was developed in response to growing demand for high-quality occupational health services that help get people back to work and prevent needless worry or time off work.

The latest ONS statistics show that economic inactivity due to long-term sickness has surged to a record-breaking 2.5 million people, up by half a million since before the pandemic (2019), along with 7.42 million people currently waiting for treatment across the UK.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Peter James said: “The longer a patient waits, the greater the treatment challenge becomes. Take a joint replacement, for example. The lack of exercise leads to a reduction in stamina and ultimately a general decline in the patient’s health.

“By the time the patient is seen by the surgeon, the surgical intervention needed is far more substantial and lengthens not only the recovery time but the length of time the patient is out of the workforce. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

It’s quick to sign up for MyWay and then services can be accessed within 30 days. As an introductory offer, Circle Health Group, the hospital’s owner, has announced that anyone who signs up to MyWay before August 31 will be eligible for a full membership refund if they are unhappy with the service after three months.

Circle Health Group CEO, Paolo Pieri, said: “For little more than the monthly cost of Netflix or Prime, our revolutionary health subscription service promises the peace of mind that you can see a specialist or get a scan rapidly if the need arises.

"Subscription services have transformed many other parts of our lives, so one that guarantees speed, control and consumer power in the area that matters most to all of us - our health - is a no-brainer.”