Would you buy a wellness screen from a high street department store darling?
News that John Lewis & Partners (one of WGP’s top favourite stores) is going to start offering wellness screening is a fascinating development. It underscores that many big brands with deep pockets see value and commercial opportunity in the ongoing transition towards private health and wellbeing services.
For John Lewis, we can see the thought process - their big focus is in generating face to face footfall, and we would heartily support the idea that healthcare is a face to face business. AND their brand is very well trusted.
But will we at Winchester GP be recommending this service for our loved ones who live further afield?
Well, here are the questions we would ask of any provider of wellness screens before booking:
- What are your medical credentials and track record?
- Is the company fronting the offering and taking the money the same as the company managing the service?
- Who will be interpreting the results for me? Will it be a real person that I can meet and discuss them with? What will their medical qualifications be?
- How long will I get with the practitioner to review my results? Is that long enough to do justice to the range of results I will be getting?
- If any of my results are out of range, will you be able to fully interpret that for me, in the context of my other medical history?
- What will happen if I have any health concerns diagnosed? Can you start me on the journey to getting well, or will you refer me back to my NHS or ‘usual GP’, leaving me with more questions than answers?
Winchester GP is a local family business, founded by a GP. We just do doctoring, nothing else! We offer wellness screening, designed by our own doctors because we see it as an integral part of good health management. If the wellness screen throws up any concerns, our doctors can start helping, there and then. And we are also there to help throughout the year, with ongoing condition management and also any acute concerns that might crop up for you or your loved ones. You’ll always be booking in with one of our own carefully selected salaried GPs - never locums.
So what do you think of JL’s latest brand extension foray?