未来の潮流を予測する

The My Medyk clinic in west London opened in 2008 in order to provide health care to Polish workers and now has 30,000 patients. They will shortly open a third branch in London. The National Health Service (NHS) dominates British health care. Private health care is a luxury for the affluent but the private Polish clinics have various specialists at reasonable prices. Poles want better customer service than British GPs (General Practitioners) provide. They are not happy with their brief consultations. In Poland, patients can book appointments directly with specialists, who also perform procedures that would be considered out-patient services in Britain. The Polish clinics rely on regular customers for revenue, so treat them well. They often invest in equipment such as ultrasound scanners as more children in Britain are now born to Polish women than to women from any other foreign country. The clinics also reflect the famous Polish immigrant penchant for hard work. The Polish Green Surgery in central Manchester admits patients until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. seven days a week. Though set up for Britain’s growing Polish population, the clinics are trying to broaden their appeal and now have a number of different nationalities on their books. My Medyk’s patients come from a wide range of backgrounds. Many of them are people working on construction sites and cleaning people’s houses. The clinics hope to expand by offering major procedures at private hospitals in Poland. They also believe they can convince Britons of ordinary means to pay for regular check-ups, something that is only for the affluent in Britain.