“Going through Equipsme 100% got me fixed up and back to work faster. It’s been worth its weight in gold not just for me but for my family, too.”
Andrew, 41, from Morecambe, was on holiday when he scraped his foot in the hotel pool. But the cut just wouldn’t get better, and he ended up hardly being able to walk. A quick call to Equipsme’s 24/7 GP Service and he was on the mend – and back at work.
Andrew explains: “I barely noticed scraping my foot at the time, but I must have gotten a bit of muck in it or something because it got infected. By the time I was back home the whole sole of my foot was red and swollen. I couldn’t really walk because every time I took a step the cut was splitting open. It was really quite painful, and less than ideal!
“Apart from anything else my job as a specialist engineer means I need to be fully mobile and functional, so I couldn’t actually go back to work.
“All of the over-the-counter stuff and normal pills and potions from the pharmacy just weren’t making any difference. I thought about going to my NHS GP, but it’s practically impossible to get a doctor’s appointment around here. If you’ve not rung them by 5 past 8 you’re out of luck - and you can literally be waiting days to see someone in person.
24/7 virtual GP service
“That’s when my wife reminded me about my Equipsme plan. She told me she needed me out of the house and back at work - and that I should stop messing around and get in touch with Equipsme’s virtual GP service!
“So I went on the App and put all the details in, including uploading photos of my foot. This was about 11 o clock at night. Within two hours I was given an appointment for the next morning.
“When I talked to the doctor that day she actually spent some time understanding what had happened and how I was feeling. So not the normal ‘give me all your symptoms in 30 seconds and out the door’ type of thing! She agreed it was infected, and prescribed me some antibiotics and steroid cream. The prescription came through by email almost immediately, and I took it to buy at my local pharmacy who filled it there and then. So from getting in touch to getting treatment was all boxed off in about 12 hours.
“As soon as I put the cream on the cut it started feeling better. And then the antibiotics kicked in and it just healed up really quickly from there. Just hitting it with the right stuff sorted it out almost instantly. Within three days I was in a fit state to get back to work, and out from under my wife’s feet!
Back to work
“Going through Equipsme 100% got me fixed up and back to work faster. I’m really grateful my employer is so supportive and actually cares about employee health. At the end of the day, it’s good for them too. There’s only a small pool of people who can do my job, so if I’m off sick they’re stretched thin and paying double-time for my cover. It just makes good sense to take care of people – and what they get back is people who actually want to work hard for them.”
Andrew is so impressed with Equipsme he’s also chosen to add his family to the plan, too. He says: “For me, having Equipsme has been worth its weight in gold - not just for me but for my family, too. If it wasn’t through work, private medical insurance just wouldn’t be something I’d be able to afford – and we’ve all found it so valuable.
“My daughter has asthma and gets frequent chest infections, and we’ve called the Equipsme GP maybe three of four times for her. There’s real peace of mind knowing we can talk to a doctor out of hours and at weekends, get expert advice and support to tide us over until we can get her to our own GP.
“To me, using Equipsme is a way to actually help the NHS, because I’m not taking up their time and taking an appointment away from someone that needs it more than me. It’s what they’re crying out for, so if you’ve got an alternative you should use it. I’d definitely recommend Equipsme to other people. It’s a great service and a great resource to have in your back pocket.”
