Two GP's who saw a gap in the market for an "ethical" service and set up their own private practice said they have "touched a nerve" with some people.
Married couple Heather Ryan and John Cosgrove, from Formby, were both working for the NHS full time when they experienced what they described as a "tipping point" after the covid pandemic. They saw a shift away from face-to-face appointments to telephone, video and e-consult appointments.
While also still working in the NHS part-time, the two doctors have opened their own private surgery, Formby GP, in a bid to offer face-to-face appointments to people in the area and free up more NHS appointments.
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Heather said: "We saw this gap in the market for what we call an ethical service where we give patients a 30 minute appointment. When people come to you asking for a random blood test, there's more than likely a reason for this.
"The half an hour gives us the chance to talk through symptoms and family history. We're spending more time getting to the bottom of what's going on and we have the time to make a difference.
"We both love the essence of General Practice but were put off by the challenges of delivering good care in the underfunded NHS system."
Since starting Formby GP the couple said it was going "really well" and they had a number of patients coming through the doors. But John admitted they were met with some annoyance from the community on social media.
John told The ECHO: "We have touched a nerve for the locals here who said we're a burden to the NHS. We are there to be able to help people who are struggling to get access to treatment.
"We are working with and alongside the NHS. There has long been a market for private healthcare, just as there is for private schools, and even privately owned cars as an alternative to public transport.
"We haven't moved into the private sector with the intention of undermining the NHS. On the contrary, we hope to take some pressure off local NHS practices by offering an alternative for those who choose to use it.
"If our society would prefer there not to be a need for private general practice, it needs to make the necessary political decisions to improve the NHS".
Despite being a private GP, John and Heather explained how they understand "not everyone can afford" to go private with their healthcare.
Heather explained: "We're fully aware not everyone can afford to go ahead with private treatments, but I don't think people know we can refer them to the NHS for treatment after an appointment with us."
John added: "We do have limitations like we can't do NHS prescriptions or blood tests, but we do refer people to the NHS. It's about the access to getting an appointment."
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