Tesco is to offer its 310,000 UK staff virtual appointments with a private doctor as the NHS continues to crack.
The new initiative will give staff and their families access to unlimited GP appointments seven days a week, according to Reuters.
It comes at a time where ongoing pressure on the NHS has left people unable to get appointments with their local GPs and ever-growing waiting lists for hospital treatments.
According to NHS data, almost five million patients each month in England wait more than two weeks for a GP appointment.
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The perk should give Tesco an upper hand as the supermarket giant’s strive to attract and retain staff.
Over the past year, the major supermarket groups have raised pay on numerous occasions, with Tesco hiking wages by more than 15%.
Tesco has partnered with YuLife to offer the service and its GPs are able to issue private prescriptions, which can be collected at pharmacies on the same day or delivered to the patient’s home.
The supermarket’s staff will also have access to nutritionists, counsellors, physiotherapists and sleep therapists.
Tesco UK people director James Goodman said: “This is a direct investment in the health of our colleagues.”
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