Talking point
Medical memberships
As the UK healthcare sector struggles with ever-increasing demand, health club operators are stepping in and offering members welcome medical support. Kath Hudson reports
The opportunity now exists for health club operators to offer access to GPs and various health checks as an add-on to memberships, creating another revenue stream, adding value for members and support for health services. Some operators in the US are going as far as offering in-depth health testing, which puts those with the means to pay in an excellent position to optimise their health.
US operator, Life Time, launched Miora Longevity and Performance in November 2023, for example. This health optimisation service involves a consultation, a diagnostic blood test and metabolic code assessment to determine the health of adrenals, thyroid, pancreas, liver, kidney, lymph, gut, the immune system, brain, cardiovascular, pulmonary and neurovascular systems, as well as hormone levels. Results are then used to create a tailored programme involving exercise, diet, HRT, IV therapies, weight loss drugs, hot and cold therapy, hyperbaric chamber and compression therapy.
This year, Equinox teamed up with Function Health to offer a US$40,000 a year membership called Optimize by Equinox, which offers 100 laboratory health tests to inform personalised programmes. Equinox partner, Dr Mark Hyman, co-founder of Function Health, said the partnership marks a historic moment when health breaks out of the doctor’s office: “By combining Equinox’s expertise and Function Health’s 100+ lab test approach, we’re unlocking a level of health and fitness that surpasses even what top doctors and biohackers can access,” he said.
In London, Surrenne at The Emory hotel (see page 84) has created a health offering alongside its gym, Tracy Anderson studio and spa, working with partners such as Virtusan and 3 Peaks Health to offer medical interventions that link into the programming of its £10,000-a-year health club membership.
In the wider health club market, many members are simply after a GP appointment, or maybe an overdue blood pressure check and this is something operators are now able to offer.
Sheffield International Venues (SIV) and Westfield Health blazed a trail in 2018, by partnering to launch a Fitness Unlimited package that allowed people to add 24/7 access to a doctor over the phone, as well as telephone counselling and membership to an online mental health and wellbeing service to their membership for between £26.60 and £38 a month, including access to leisure facilities, but very little progress was made following this, until the upsurge in interest from consumers following the pandemic.
What are the next steps for operators wanting to offer a more holistic service and access to medical interventions? We ask the experts.
Treningshelse Holdings, which runs clubs under brands such as Family Sports Club in the Nordics, offers Frisk Health Membership, which gives members access to health services 24 hours a day, for an additional 99kr a month (US$9.20, £7.26). Around 10 per cent of our new members sign up when they join.
To run the service we have partnerships with digital medical suppliers Kry and Nordic Netcare.
Services include video consultation with a GP from anywhere in the world; text-based prescription renewal; video consultation with a psychologist and medical nurse advice over the phone 24 hours a day. If GPs are unable to resolve the issue with a video consultation, they can refer to the specialist health service and if physical tests are needed, there is the option of working with a personal trainer.
Members using the service report a high degree of satisfaction and we find it provides additional revenue during low-season periods. For example, during summer holidays, people do not come to the clubs as much, but value having access to health services while they’re travelling, which means they’re less likely to cancel their membership.
This is an area of focus for us and we’re aiming to develop further healthcare services for our members. Many people who seek out training often have a problem with their health and we want to be able to offer specific solutions.
HealthHero offers virtual consultations with practising doctors for a range of everyday illnesses. As part of the appointment, should the doctor feel it’s appropriate, we can offer private prescriptions for medication or referrals to secondary care. We can also signpost the patient back to their own GP or, when necessary, to NHS urgent care.
Most patients don’t require an examination or to have investigations, such as blood tests. For those patients who do, we advise them to see their NHS GP, attend an Urgent Care Centre or Emergency Department depending on the urgency of their condition.
In addition to virtual GP appointments, we also offer remote physiotherapy consultations with a focus on musculoskeletal health, to facilitate prevention and management of aches and pains. Our registered physiotherapists provide early intervention and education to help patients make proactive changes and reduce the risk of minor problems becoming more serious.
We currently work with three health and fitness operators, including Everyone Active.
We’re definitely seeing an appetite to increase access to healthcare and wellbeing services across the sector, as a valuable service to engage members, so we’re currently in discussions with other chains to provide their communities with access to HealthHero’s virtual GP service. Outside the health club sector, we work with a range of clients including corporates, insurance and cash plan providers, and SMEs.
Everyone Active launched an Everyone Wellness membership in 2023, becoming the UK’s first leisure operator to offer fully integrated health support.
With the integration of services from our partner HealthHero into our membership benefits, customers have access to a virtual GP service via video and phone consultations. The process is managed by HealthHero, once members contact them through the app.
The wellness membership also gives customers access to a wide range of exclusive benefits to help with their mind, body and wellbeing, including free guest passes, apps that support mental wellbeing, prescribed exercise, free PT and more than 120 product savings from major wellness brands.
More than 25,000 people have signed up to a Wellness membership so far, with 25 per cent of new fitness sales choosing this option. The health support element can be added to any Everyone Active membership for £9.99 (US$13.00, €12.00) per month, while the service is also available from £7.99 (US$10.38, €9.53) as an add-on for people living with long-term health conditions who are referred to move more with us.
The service costs £55.99 (US$78.00, €66.70) a month as a standalone. The HealthHero app connects data and appointments to each customer’s doctor, and HealthHero can also refer customers directly to their doctor, therapist or urgent care after their consultation.
Since the product launch in December, only 14 per cent of appointments have resulted in referrals to doctors, which shows how the service is relieving strain on the health service.
Horizon Leisure opened a Health and Wellbeing Hub last year, as an alternative way to reach members of the community where they are on their fitness journey. Designed to not look like a fitness facility, it’s located in a shopping centre and has a welcoming reception area, with sofas at the front and the gym tucked at the back.
The Hub offers blood pressure, cholesterol and health checks by highly-qualified fitness professionals, who look for early detection of conditions, as well as smoking cessation and weight management programmes and an introduction to exercise for targeted groups, such as weightlifting for men over 50 and people with high blood pressure.
The people we’re targeting wouldn’t voluntarily come to our other leisure centres – many of them still don’t see the value of physical activity and are not inclined to invest in it – so this is a way of introducing them to our services and supporting and educating them about their health. Havant has notably high adult obesity rate, at 27.2 per cent, and 68.2 per cent of adults in Hampshire have excessive weight.
We also use this service as a feeder to our leisure centres. We offer a Foundation programme, which involves four weeks at the Hub, followed by four weeks supported at a leisure centre. A year after launching, 33.3 per cent of Foundation participants have transitioned to Horizon Leisure membership and many more use the facilities on a pay as you go basis. A further 86.2 per cent said they were motivated to continue their fitness journey.
In November 2023, we launched the Community Pod, where people can pop in to do a blood pressure check, and the results are fed directly back to their doctor. Around 60 per cent need to have an intervention, which helps work towards reducing CVD risk locally.
Everything we offer is either free or very low cost. As a charitable trust, this community initiative is supported by the commercial side of the business and external funding. However, the aim is to get to the point where the service is self-sustaining. It’s a great community resource, so we’ve been approached about opening more hubs around the borough, which we are keen to do once we’ve perfected the model.
HCM first reported on social wellness club Remedy Place back in 2018 and the concept is now scaling, with new locations under development.
Although not yet linked to a specific health club operator, Remedy Place is trailblazing with the types of tests and interventions it offers, as Jonathan Leary explains “Remedy Place, offers a range of functional medicine tests to optimise members’ health,” he says. “The main objective of functional medicine is to identify issues and then holistically address them. It’s all about getting to the root cause of any health concerns. Prevention hinges on catching potential issues before they become problems: functional medicine is the future of our healthcare system in the US.
“We use blood and stool tests to reveal deficiencies, toxicity levels, sensitivities, imbalances in any system or organ and much more. This extensive data collection provides a comprehensive blueprint of what’s happening in the body and all the necessary information to create an individualised programme, fix the root cause of any issues and enhance overall performance."
“To make this service more accessible and mainstream, individual tests could be offered, ideally which are most relevant to the client’s needs. A good starting point is a micronutrient test, which identifies any deficiencies. This information can help adjust diets and supplements accordingly and correcting deficiencies can lead to rapid and significant improvements in health.”
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