Private clinic crowdfunds to offer a thousand free GP appointments to seniors in need

A doctor is giving away a thousand free private health appointments to the seniors in need.

Max Niedzielski runs Novium Clinic – a Care Quality Commission registered and regulated independent GP clinic based in Emsworth and is running a crowdfunding campaign to allow his clinic to help elderly people in need get a home visit by a doctor for free.

The Healthy Seniors and Healthy Communities Project hopes to help people access healthcare in a timely and professional manner, while taking some strain off the NHS.

Max, who works in A&E at St. Richard’s Hospital is hoping to raise £50,000 to allow him and his team to see more than a thousand seniors.

To qualify for the appointment, a patient needs to be 80 years or older, or 70 years or older with multiple chronic conditions. They can live by themselves, with family, or in care or nursing homes.

Max said: “Everyone who works at the clinic does so alongside working within the NHS, so we really do see first-hand the pressure it is under and how, at times, the people who need care the most can suffer because of that. So we wanted to not only give those people access to immediate excellent care, but to also take some of the pressure off the NHS.

“We want to focus on preventative care as much as curative, to ensure that we’re not just putting a plaster on issues that could put pressure on the NHS in the future, but instead ensuring that health issues are nipped in the bud where possible.”

The project will deliver care across Portsmouth, Southampton and West Sussex, offering in-clinic and home visits to those who need them.

People who donate to the crowdfunding campaign will receive rewards for doing so, essentially buying themselves their own healthcare appointments. For example, when someone donates £20, they will receive a £20 voucher that they can use towards any treatment within the clinic.

Larger donations can get you an annual membership to the GP clinic, or even a 12-week full wellness programme.

Max said: “We implore anyone who is considering booking a private healthcare appointment to do so this way, as by doing so you will be helping an older person get the healthcare they need.”

The funding will go directly towards paying a general practitioner to fulfil the appointments.

Eventually, Max aims to expand across all of the United Kingdom, establishing Healthy Seniors and Healthy Communities clinical teams in every community so everyone has access to immediate, high-level care.

You can support the crowd funder by searching “Healthy Seniors and Healthy Communities Crowd Funder”