Who can join a family membership, and how

Who can join with you

When you join, you can add a partner, your children or your parents, and pay for everyone in one payment [1]. You can also take out a membership for someone you care for without joining yourself, such as a parent who lives in London while you are abroad [1].

Each person has their own membership at its own price, and their own record [1]. Every person can be on Signature or on Platinum, so a parent who needs more of a doctor’s time can have Platinum while the rest of the family holds Signature.

How each person is priced

Signature is £6,950 a year for each person and Platinum £17,450, paid for the year or monthly over twelve months [1]. The fee is the same whatever your age, so a child and a grandparent pay the same as you [2].

Each membership runs for twelve months from the day it starts and does not renew unless you ask it to, and we write to you 30 days and 7 days before it ends [2]. Allowances such as house calls, guest passes and the yearly blood test belong to the person and the membership year in which they are given, and they do not carry over [2].

Why a whole family benefits

The people who see a doctor most are usually at either end of life. A study of more than 100 million consultations in English general practice found that consultation rates were highest in children under five and in people aged 85 and over [3]. A family membership puts the youngest and the oldest with a doctor who knows them, reached the same day.

Knowing the whole family helps the doctor too. A systematic review in BMJ Open found that 18 of 22 studies linked greater continuity of care with doctors to lower mortality, though the evidence is observational [4]. A doctor who knows a parent’s heart history or a child’s asthma notices change sooner.

Children and teenagers

Children can join as members in their own right. For anyone under 18, a parent or legal guardian with authority to consent to treatment gives that consent, should be ready to show proof of guardianship, and is usually present at the appointment unless the doctor agrees another arrangement [2].

A child’s health information belongs to the child. Under UK data protection law a child who understands their rights can exercise them, and a parent normally acts for a child who cannot [5]. In Scotland a child of 12 or over is presumed able to do so, and in England and Wales it depends on the child’s understanding [5]. Teenagers often value some time alone with the doctor, which the doctor can agree with you and your child [2].

A consultant paediatrician sees children from birth to 18, by secure video or in person in London, as a separate appointment with its own fee [6].

Guest passes for family who are not members

A guest pass gives a family member or a friend a same day GP appointment at our clinic on your membership [2]. Signature includes three a year and Platinum ten [1]. They suit a relative who visits now and then, while anyone who needs a doctor through the year is better served by a membership of their own.

A checklist before you add your family

Have these ready when you join, so everyone is set up in one sitting.

• The full name, date of birth and contact details of each person
• Which membership each person needs, Signature or Platinum
• Proof of parental responsibility for each child under 18
• Each person’s own GP, if they want results sent there
• A list of medicines and allergies for each person
• Any recent letters or results you want in their record

Larger households and family offices

For a household that wants one physician on retainer, the Family Office membership gives every person everything in Platinum, with a physician who holds fifty families, answers their own number at any hour and comes to you [1]. A family office or a company can ask our membership team to call and arrange it [1].

How The Wellness can help

Every member is seen the same day in London, and by phone or video from any country, at our clinics on Baker Street in Marylebone and Eccleston Street in Belgravia or at home [1]. Anyone not ready to join can see a GP per visit, with a standard appointment at £150.

Every doctor is GMC registered, and regulated services are delivered through registered partner clinics and accredited laboratories. Records stay with each person, who can read and download them, and membership is not an emergency service, so in an emergency call 999 [1].