A blog by MJA member Rebecca Wallersteiner
Last week I visited both Clinique de Genolier and Clinique Nescens, near Geneva, two of the flagship clinics of the Swiss Medical Network, which comprises 21 private clinics and 60 medical centres across Switzerland, which could not be more different to the hospital environments I usually work in. Instead of my accustomed view into the exercise yard of Wormwood Scrubs, my room at Clinique de Genolier offered a breath-taking view towards Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc, with lush green hillsides and kites circling the skies. I slept like a log.
Breakfast was served in the room, which I did not want to leave ever, feeling weeks of stress fall away. Sadly, the cost for a week’s stay at the clinic is around 10,000 Euros, which is rather out of my reach. However, if I was working in the City, instead of journalism and the NHS, I’d certainly consider going back and having a personalised check-up designed to identify my health risk factors and get some sun damage removed. Genolier’s personalised evaluation includes analysing your sleeping habits, the health of your joints, brain and bones, identifying any issues and recommending how you deal with them.
A tour of the hospital’s wellness facilities included Photobiomodulation Therapy in which red and infrared light supposedly function to simulate energy production and regenerate all your body cells. Genolier also offers cryotherapy, a treatment that uses extreme cold to reduce inflammation, alleviate pain and boost athletic performance, potentially useful if you are an injured sports celebrity. If you feel too burnt-out, or lazy, for a walk in the forest which surrounds the clinic, you can ask a nurse to turn on another light-exuding therapy machine which immerses you in natural chemicals exuded by trees and helps you slow down. There wasn’t enough time to try these devices, or treatments, but I did manage to enjoy a quick walk in the beautiful countryside surrounding the clinic.
During the conference coinciding with our stay, there was a celebration to announce the partnership between the renowned Mayo clinic in the United States and the Swiss Medical Network. The partnership aims to develop advanced preventative care, current executive health and check-up programmes. It will also allow doctors and specialists from the Swiss Medical Network to gain access to cutting-edge clinical resources, a scientific library and to share scientific knowledge via continuous medical education programmes, which can only be a good thing. Amongst the consultants who talked to me about their clinical and research work during the event was Dr Aude Ambresin, Head of the Swiss Visio Retina Research Centre, a specialist in age-related macular degeneration.
On a visit to Clinique Générale-Beaulieu in Geneva, one of the Group’s other flagship clinics, I was particularly interested to see the CyberKnife robotic radiotherapy system (which cost around two million Swiss francs), and high tech PET scanner and to learn about the various uses of such ingenious pieces of equipment.
High-end Swiss healthcare has changed a lot in the almost eighteen years since I visited the Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland, whilst working for Dr Tom Stuttaford The Times health correspondent. At that time it was mostly about anti-ageing and rejuvenating body cells, aimed at the super-rich, rather than today’s more holistic and preventative wellness approach.
I was invited on a press trip to discover Swiss healthcare by MJA award sponsor Genolier Patient Services. The MJA does not endorse the Clinique de Genolier, the Swiss Medical Network, or any of their services or products. The association simply connected me with this opportunity.
Recent Comments