There has been a series of new entries into the fast-growing private healthcare space here in Northern Ireland, but not all of them have a clear role in the marketplace.
Jonny Davies, former practising paramedic and founder of Emerald Urgent Care, reckons that his company does. It bridges the gap between general practice and hospital emergency care, providing walk-in treatment for non-emergency health issues.
Since opening its doors in Belfast’s Healthworks medical hub on Great Victoria Street last year, it has opened clinics in Enniskillen and Derry/Londonderry. Plans are in place to open centres across the region, with a network of independent urgent treatment centres.
Jonny Davies sees Emerald’s services as one clear solution to the pressures on both GP surgeries and hospital A&E departments.
What’s more, he reckons that Emerald can co-exist alongside NHS services as well as other private healthcare providers.
The County Antrim man has had a rich and varied career path. As a teenager, he worked in Dave Boy McAuley’s bar in Ballygally and ended up with a career in hospitality – managing hotels and nightclubs in the French Alps during ski seasons as well as in London pubs.
“But I always had an inkling that I wanted to be in healthcare. I’d done a lot of work-related first aid and it really appealed to me.”
So he trained as a paramedic, initially in Cape Town, South Africa, then completing a critical care degree in England before going to work in Birmingham for the West Midlands Ambulance Service. “I suppose you could call it a baptism of fire,” he smiles. “I was certainly medical care at the sharp end.”
But he didn’t stop at that, going on to complete a postgraduate anaesthetics qualification and working for the next 14 years as a Anaesthetic Associate at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Manchester’s Wythenshawe Hospital. He and his wife also found time to run a pub and cafe business in Leicestershire.
Fast forward to 2020 and Jonny Davies found himself working at Glenfield Hospital adult intensive care in Leicester, one of the UK hospitals where the most serious Covid cases were transferred to at the height of the pandemic.
“It was pretty awful at times,” he says. “But the experience was invaluable for me as a healthcare professional.”
But Covid changed things in more ways than one.
“After the pandemic, our cafe/pub business was struggling with post pandemic bills and rising costs of doing business. We thought it was time to up sticks and head back to Northern Ireland,” he says. “But, try as I might, I couldn’t find a job to come back to.”
The couple and their children came back to live on the Antrim Coast, but with no job locally, Jonny commuted back and forth to Leicestershire and Manchester with the NHS.
“Then I started to think about the gap between GP surgeries and hospitals over here. There was a clear need, I reckoned, so it was a case of putting the work in and trying to find a backer.”
Some of Jonny’s first encounters was less than promising. Early conversations were often met with hesitation and resistance to the idea of private healthcare.
Investors thought differently, though, and Emerald Urgent Care was up and running in Belfast in 2025, closely followed by the Enniskillen and Derry clinics. The next up, Coleraine, remains stalled at the planning stage.
The process is a simple one. Patients can walk into an Emerald Centre and see a prescribing paramedic or prescribing nurse at a flat £50 per appointment fee. The Belfast clinic is open from 8 am to 8 pm daily and it’s ideal for those with a wide range of medical issues who perhaps can’t secure a GP appointment and don’t want to turn up at a busy hospital A&E department.
“There is an issue around acceptance here in Northern Ireland. But we’re seeing increasing numbers coming through our doors….people who just want prompt treatment and don’t want to wait for it. The rise in the number of private healthcare operators here is evidence that attitudes are changing. Private healthcare is here to stay,” says Jonny Davies.
It’s hardly surprising given the headlines around overwhelmed GP surgeries and even more overwhelmed A&E units where corridor care has become the norm.
Emerald Urgent Care also offers a virtual appointments service, enabling patients across Northern Ireland to speak directly with a clinician via phone or video call. Following a consultation, they can get a diagnosis and have prescriptions sent directly to their local pharmacy.
“The blended model of virtual and in-person care really does improve access for patients who might be having issues seeing a medical professional,” Jonny adds. The Emerald Urgent Care Managing Director is backed by a consultant-led specialist team including Dr. Darren Ingram as Chief Medical Officer.
The Emerald Clinics have also been proving invaluable for tourists visiting Northern Ireland. “Visitors coming here, whether they’re on cruise ships or staying in local hotels, have a bit of a problem if they have a medical issue, or even if they’ve left vital drugs back at home.
“That’s where we come in. We can provide immediate appointments and sort out a range of issues to let them get on with their holidays.
“For every patient who comes in to one of our centres, it’s one less to add to the pressures at hospitals here.”
It’s a healthcare and business model which is working well in other countries. Amongst those with established urgent care centres are both Australia and New Zealand, and the sector is picking up pace elsewhere in the UK.
“We see ourselves as collaborators,” says Jonny Davies. “We want to work with the GP surgeries and the hospitals, and we’re also happy to work alongside other private healthcare providers offering complementary services to our’s.”
With appointments increasingly difficult to secure, Emerald has also launched a new corporate membership scheme, designed to give businesses a practical way to support employee wellbeing through timely access to care.
For further information on this and on Emerald and its services, visit www.emeraldurgentcare.co.uk