Terms & Conditions

Thank you for visiting the Hextable Osteopath website.
Please read the following information carefully and call with any queries prior to making an appointment.

Terms/Definitions

"Agreement" means these terms and conditions of business, which pertain to the Services provided by the Clinic.

"Patient" or “you” means the person to whom the Services are provided.

"Clinic", "Practice", "I" or “me” means Hextable Osteopath, St Peter's Church, Hextable, Kent BR8 7RH.

"Services" means the provision of osteopathic care to be provided under the Agreement.

"Appointment" means a period of Clinic time booked for a Patient for the provision of Services.

"Fee(s)" or "Charge(s)" means an amount due in consideration for the booking of an Appointment for the provision of Services, or for late-arrival, cancellation or non-attendance of a booked Appointment.

1 - Your Agreement with the Practice

These Terms and Conditions form the basis of the Agreement between you and the Practice.

By making an Appointment you agree to be bound by these Terms which, being in the public domain (i.e. on the Practice website), are binding whether or not they are read.

These Terms and Conditions may be changed or updated at any time.

2 - Practice Service Standards

My promise to you

I will endeavour to provide a high standard of Patient care and to work with you to ensure you receive, with your agreement, the treatment that I consider is most appropriate for you and your issue(s) at the time.

Whilst I cannot guarantee positive results (although the majority of Patients do experience meaningful improvement) I can promise that you will always receive my honest opinion and best efforts.

If I think that you would be better served elsewhere such as by your GP, a consultant, or other practitioner such as a podiatrist, or that some other investigation prior to treatment (e.g. blood tests or xray) would be advisable, then I will advise you of this as soon as I reach such a conclusion.

Booking errors

If I make an error in the booking of an Appointment which results in a double-booking with another Patient or otherwise results in your Appointment being either lost, rescheduled for another date/time or commencing late, I will offer to compensate you for part of the Fee for that Appointment in an amount I consider appropriate.

Variation from published material

The Practice's leaflets, correspondence, advertising in external publications, and other information online including but not limited to the Practice's website, are not binding and these Terms and Conditions take precedence over these and any and all other material, whether online, printed or otherwise.

Reasonable amendments may be made to the Services without notice, and the Services so varied shall be accepted as complying with the Agreement.

3 - Appointment booking, attendance, cancellation and rescheduling

Please be sure to read section 4 ('Payment') below in conjunction with this section, particularly if you are a new or prospective Patient.

Booking an Appointment

First Appointments must be made by phone or in person. Follow-up Appointments may be made in the same way or by text message.

When booking an Appointment you will be asked for your name, address and telephone number, provision of which details is a condition of booking.

If you book an Appointment for another person you accept liability for all fees and charges related to that booking.

No subsequent Appointment bookings will be made whilst payment for any fee or charge for a previous booking remains outstanding. Payment is required at the end of each Appointment, however the payment is made.

Appointment reminders and confirmations

Text confirmations of Appointment bookings and reminders can be requested at no extra charge.

Attendance : Timekeeping

You should arrive at least 5 minutes before your Appointment time, so please prepare and set out for your Appointment in plenty of time. Your Appointment will end at the scheduled time regardless of your arrival time, as the following patient is entitled to have their Appointment start on time*.

*Appointments will occasionally run over due to additional treatment being required for unforeseen issues.

Sometimes Patients are unavoidably late, but if you arrive late you may receive a shorter treatment than normal and the full fee will be charged.

If you arrive more than 10 minutes late for your Appointment I will reschedule it for another time and you will be charged a late cancellation fee (£30).

If you experience traffic or public transport delays please call or text (pull-over safely first if driving) to notify me, before the Appointment start time, so we can reschedule if necessary and potentially avoid a late cancellation charge (conditional on the rebooked Appointment being attended).

Repeated or habitual late arrival will result in no further bookings being accepted.

Attendance : Non-attendance

If you fail to attend a booked Appointment without notifying me prior to the Appointment time you will pay the full Appointment fee of £60 for a first Appointment or £48 for a follow-up Appointment.

If you fail to attend a first Appointment without such notification you will be charged the full fee of £60 and will not be offered further Appointments.

If you fail to attend a follow-up Appointment without such notification you will be charged the full fee of £48.

If you fail to attend two follow-up Appointments without such notification in one 12-month period you will not be offered further Appointments.

If you fail to attend an Appointment without notice you may be required to pre-pay the fee(s) for any future Appointment(s). In this case you will pre-pay the fee within two hours of booking the Appointment, otherwise the Appointment will be cancelled. Pre-payment can be made either remotely by bank transfer or in cash at the clinic within two hours of booking (on clinic days only). Cheques are not accepted for pre-paid Appointments. Pre-paid Appointments can only be booked by the Patient, not by another person on the Patient's behalf.

Cancellation and rescheduling

If you need to cancel or reschedule an Appointment you will notify me the day prior. Leave a voicemail or send a text message if I am unable to answer the phone, or outside working hours (early morning, late evening, weekends etc.)

This policy described below strikes a balance between the fact that same-day cancellations are sometimes unavoidable, and the disruption caused to the running of the Clinic, along with blocking Appointments slots that other patients would have booked if they had been available.

No exception is made for illness, including Covid-19, unless it is a case of serious trauma or a doctor's diagnosis of serious pathology. The facility for rolling the Appointment and the same day-cancellation fee forward to another date and time within 14 days (described below) makes reasonable allowance for cancellation due to commonplace illnesses such as colds, chest infections, migraines, gastric bugs etc. For clarification, Patients with infectious illnesses are expected to cancel their Appointment, and whilst they will be charged if this is on the same day they will be able to carry forward the charge as part-payment towards the rebooked Appointment, as per below.

If you cancel or reschedule on the day of the Appointment, prior to the start time, you will pay a cancellation charge of £30. If, at the same time as cancelling, you rebook the Appointment for a day within 14 calendar days of the cancelled Appointment - and the rebooked Appointment is attended - the cancellation charge will count as part-payment for the rebooked Appointment.

NB - This will only be possible once per Appointment. If it is cancelled/rebooked again the same-day cancellation charge will be retained and any future Appointment charged separately - i.e. the Appointment cannot be continually 'rolled-over'.

For a first Appointment, only one cancellation and rebooking will be accepted. If you cancel or ask to reschedule a first Appointment for a second time you will not be offered further Appointments. This is due to the poor Appointment-keeping exhibited by the majority of previous enquirers who have cancelled or rescheduled their first Appointments more than once.

Notification of cancellation, rebooking or late arrival

This should be by phone (either voice, WhatsApp or text message) to the Clinic's published phone number.

If there is no record of your incoming phone call or message on the Clinic mobile phone, timed prior to your booked Appointment time, it will be reasonably assumed that you did not attempt to contact the Clinic.

Appointments for children

Any person (including patients) under the age of sixteen years is considered a child under English law. Child patients must be accompanied by a responsible adult (i.e. person over the age of eighteen years acting in loco parentis to that child) and that adult must remain in the Clinic room with the child throughout the Appointment.

Children are able to consent to their own medical examinations and treatments under English law (the 'Gillick Competence' applies), meaning parental or other adult consent is not required. The relevant clinician (the Osteopath, in this instance) must be satisfied in his/her professional judgement that the child has the capacity to understand the examination and/or treatment being proposed. If I consider the child does not have such capacity then consent will be sought from the responsible adult and recorded in the Patient notes.

Bringing children to your Appointment

Children are always welcome in the Clinic.

Patients who bring children are responsible for ensuring they remain (relatively!) quiet during the Appointment and do not interfere with treatment or Clinic equipment/furniture etc.

No child under the age of 16 can be left unattended within the Clinic at any time.

Bringing pets to your Appointment

Guide dogs may be brought into the clinic.

No pet or animal of any other kind may be brought into the clinic unless it can be kept in a secure, clean, carry-case which remains closed at all times whilst on the premises. If I consider the pet to be disruptively noisy it will have to be removed from the clinic room and will not be permitted to be brought to further Appointments.

Mobile phones in clinic

Mobile phones are to be switched off or to silent mode before entering the Clinic and until you have left.

Theft, loss or damage to your property

While I will take all reasonable care to ensure the safety of your belongings, the Practice accepts no responsibility for the theft or loss of, or damage to, any of your or your accompanying visitors’ property.

I strongly advise you not to bring valuable personal belongings into the Clinic with you.

4 - Payment

Please note - Appointment Fees are charged for booking (reserving) professional time, and are incurred upon booking.

The Fee is due whether or not the Appointment is attended (unless cancelled with at least 1 day's notice), whether or not treatment is given, and is not conditional on the outcome of treatment.

Methods of payment

Fees may be paid in cash, by bank transfer (Internet banking), or by cheque.

Timing of payments

Payment is due in full at the end of the Appointment, prior to leaving the Clinic.

Further Appointments will not be booked while any Fee or Charge for a previous Appointment, whether attended or not, is outstanding.

Repeated late payment will result in no further Appointments being offered to the Patient at the Clinic.

Receipts

Receipts for Fees and Charges paid are available on request.

Insurance-funded treatment

If you have healthcare insurance you should speak to your insurer prior to booking, to confirm that osteopathy is covered by your policy.

You will pay for each Appointment in the normal way (i.e. on the day of the Appointment via bank transfer or in cash) and will be sent a receipt to reclaim the cost from your policy.

Unpaid Fees or Charges
You agree to settle, in full and within 21 calendar days of the date of the relevant Appointment, any Fee or Charge for, but not limited to, non-attendance, late cancellation or late arrival.

Further Appointments will not be booked whilst any such Fee or Charge is outstanding.

Repeated non-payment will result in the Patient being refused further Appointments on a permanent basis.

Legal recovery

Failure to pay any outstanding Fee or Charge in full and in cleared funds within 21 days may result in the debt being transferred to a collection agency or referred to County Court under a civil recovery scheme, along with any associated costs including, but not necessarily limited to, the collection agency's fees, meaning the amount recovered may exceed the original Fee or Charge.

5 - Your Appointment in Clinic

I will provide a safe and comfortable environment for your treatment, ensuring that the clinic room and equipment are clean, suitable and properly used.

You will always be treated with courtesy and dignity, and your beliefs and values will be respected without discrimination.

I have a relaxed whilst professional clinical style which patients advise that they appreciate and find reassuring.

Appropriate treatment
I always determine whether treatment is suitable for you, and more likely to be successful than not, prior to any treatment being carried out.

I will provide treatment appropriate to your needs and advice on self-care. It may be necessary to involve or refer you to other healthcare professionals such as your GP.

I will provide you, where I am able to do so, with an estimate of the number of appointments you are likely to need for meaningful improvement. This estimate may change as treatment progresses, depending on your response and other factors around your presenting complaint coming to light.

Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that the agreed treatment plan accurately reflects your wishes as discussed with me.

If I consider that treatment is not appropriate I will explain why. I am not obliged to treat a patient if I consider that treatment is not appropriate for any reason.

I reserve the legal right to decline any person an Appointment, whether an initial Appointment or follow-up, to discontinue treatment at any time, or to refuse to continue offering a particular Patient any Appointments. This may be, for example, to ensure my own safety or that of others on the premises, or due to what I consider to be a breakdown in the therapeutic relationship. Any such decision on my part will be final.

Consent
I will ask for your consent before starting treatment at your first Appointment.

You may withdraw your consent to treatment at any time, including during treatment.

Once you have given your consent at the first Appointment it will be assumed to be ongoing, both during the Appointment during which it is given and at all subsequent Appointments, unless you state otherwise.

Chaperones
A chaperone is an adult who accompanies a patient during their consultation and/or treatment. This may be a relative or friend of the patient.

A chaperone is required when either:

the patient is a minor (under 16), or;
the patient is an adult who lacks capacity (i.e. to make informed decisions for him/herself).

A chaperone can be requested at any time before or during any appointment.

If you wish to have a chaperone but are unable to provide one at that time then the appointment will be postponed until you are able to arrange this.

If you bring a chaperone this will be noted in your patient record.

Risk of injury

I will explain the risks and benefits of any specific treatment method that I believe carries a higher than average risk of adverse reaction/injury.

I will always endeavour to ensure a satisfactory outcome but no clinical procedure is entirely risk-free and the results of any particular treatment cannot be guaranteed.

In certain cases I may decide to treat in a limited way during a particular appointment in order to monitor any post-treatment symptoms, before deciding to proceed with further or more extensive treatment at the subsequent appointment. This is frequently useful and an effective way to ensure patient safety, comfort and progress.

If you have any concerns or queries you should raise these with me. I am completely receptive to your feedback and will be open and honest with you, as my primary aim is to help you work towards resolving, relieving or managing your issue and this is best achieved via a collaborative partnership.

Liability
I will be responsible for the care I provide to you.

It is your responsibility to provide the me with all relevant medical details prior to each treatment.

I cannot be held liable for any harm that occurs as a result of your failure to disclose such information.

It is your decision whether to comply with any advice and/or recommendations I provide regarding the care of a treated, symptomatic or other area.

I will not be liable for any harm resulting from your failure to comply with such advice or recommendations, or for complying with the same in a manner other than that explained.

I will not be liable in contract, tort or otherwise for any economic loss (including, without limitation, loss of profit), or for any other special, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising out of, or in connection with, its provision of any products and/or Services to the Patient.

6 - Data protection

All personal data is managed in accordance with GDPR under the Privacy Policy - click the button below to read.

7 - Complaints

It is my aim to always meet or exceed my patients' expectations. However, where I can improve the service offered your feedback is much appreciated and treated as a priority.

Your right to complain

I understand and very much regret that on rare occasion the service received may not be to a particular Patient's satisfaction or expectation.

If you are unhappy with the standard of care you have received I would like to hear about it. Your concern will be taken seriously and any complaint will be properly reviewed and appropriate action taken.

Complaints procedure

Concerns or complaints can be communicated directly to me, either in person or by telephone. If you would like to bring somebody with you when speaking with me in person, please do. Alternatively you can put your concerns in writing to me at the Practice address and you will receive a written reply within 10 working days.

If I am unable to find a resolution for your concern or either you or I consider that an external view would be constructive, I will offer, with your permission, to pass your concern to another osteopath for their opinion.

However you notify me of your concern, I will work with you to determine:

what went wrong and why;
how I can rectify or resolve the issue, and;
what changes I can implement to prevent the same issue recurring in the future.

If you are concerned about safety and you wish to make a formal complaint with the osteopathic regulator, the General Osteopathic Council can be contacted on 0207 3576655.

Please note that the General Osteopathic Council cannot award compensation; they can only adjudicate.

8 - Other terms

Changes in applicable law

You acknowledge and accept that Applicable Law may change and prevent the Practice from providing certain or any Services. If the Practice becomes aware that such a change has occurred and the change has an effect on your care, The Clinic will contact you to inform you of this and its consequences.

Assignment

The Practice may transfer and assign your Agreement to any person who acquires all or substantially all of the assets of the Practice.

The Practice may assign or sub-contract its obligations or rights under this Agreement to a competent third party in whole or in part.

Third party rights

Except for you and the Practice or any insurer or third party to the extent agreed by the Practice, no person will have any rights under or in connection with these Terms.

Law and the courts

These Terms are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with English law and the courts of England and Wales shall have non-exclusive jurisdiction.

Warranties and representations

Each party warrants and represents that, as at the date of this Agreement, it has full capacity and authority to enter into this Agreement.

If requested, the Practice may help the Patient to choose medical services or other Services but the Practice does not provide any warranties that such Services will be fit for the Patient's purpose and assessment and selection of the Services remains the Patient's ultimate responsibility.

No statement, description, information, condition or recommendation contained in any Practice literature, price list, website, advertisement or communication or made verbally, in print or online by representatives of the Practice shall be construed to vary in any way any of the terms of this Agreement.

All other warranties (express or implied) are hereby excluded to maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

Modifications and additional terms

The Practice reserves the right to modify these T&Cs without prior notice.

Force majeure

The Practice shall be entitled to delay or cancel the delivery of Services or to reduce the amount of Services delivered if it is prevented from or hindered in or delayed in the provision of Services through any circumstances beyond its reasonable control including but not limited to: strike, lock-out, accident, war, government action, national emergency, act of terrorism, protest, riot, civil commotion, explosion, flood, epidemic, fire.