Axa Health is trialling a service which connects members with urgent care centres and offers them a 75% discounted rate to avoid attending accident and emergency departments.
Members will be able to get support for conditions and issues from minor burns, wounds and broken bones to urinary infections and respiratory conditions.
The service usually costs £100 but eligible members will receive a code to get the service for £25.
Axa Health said the service will be the first provided by a private healthcare insurer and aims to provide fast and effective access to urgent care treatment, giving members even more choice when managing their health concerns.
It will initially be trialled with selected, London-based individual clients from 7 November, with the ambition of rolling the service out to other suitable areas in 2023. Around 15,000 people are involved in the pilot.
In order to access the service, members call the insurer’s round-the-clock urgent care helpline to find out where the nearest centre is and its opening hours. Callers will also be given a code to visit the service at the discounted rate.
Health & Protection asked Axa Health which clinics will be included in the service. Axa Health revealed that for this stage of the pilot, it has partnered with HCA and may expand with other providers as needed in the future.
Andy McClure, marketing and proposition director of Axa Health, (pictured) said: “We’re proud to be the first UK healthcare insurer to offer an urgent care service like this.
“We’re always developing new ways to support our members and believe that this service will help our members access expert, timely care as they need it. We want to be at the forefront of care for our members and provide the services they want and need to help them with their health concerns.
“This initiative is just one of the ways we’re helping our members this winter and we hope that it also has the added benefit of helping ease some of the strain on A&E departments at one of their busiest times.”