Appointment Policy – including during COVID-19

 

As a provider of healthcare, we see people who are, by definition, unwell, and therefore likely to miss or late cancel appointments because of poor health. There are countless other reasons circumstances or misfortune can prevent attendance, but when we make a booking, we reserve time for you that no one else can take. Missed or late cancelled appointments represent the biggest threat to our business and the livelihoods of our therapists, who do not get paid for missed appointments.

We therefore charge in full for any appointment changed, altered or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, or missed, to protect both our team and our business. All reputable healthcare organisations have this policy, without which we could not exist.

During Coronavirus, if you suddenly need to self-isolate, or cancel because you feel unwell, we ask you to respect and abide by our appointments policy. This is absolutely critical to our survival and ensures that we will continue to be here for you, and others, when you can attend.

 

Frequently asked questions

 

• What if I am suddenly ill?

As a medical practice, we care for unwell people with complex health needs. Our customers, the people we serve, represent a group of people who are more likely to miss their appointments or cannot attend because of their health. We care about the well-being of our clients, but this policy serves to protect our team and their families, as they would not get paid when appointments are missed or changed at brief notice. It is precisely because we care for people will ill health that providers of health care have this policy.

 

• What if I am self-isolating?

Self-isolation is just one of countless reasons outside of your control that can prevent you from attending. We deeply understand the frustration this may cause you as an individual, but the impact of multiple individual cases happening every day, for us, is devastating. Without this policy we, and all other health care providers, could not continue to operate. We hope that you understand why we have this policy, and that this is very clear, so that this our policy, team and practice are respected should this happen to you.

 

• What if a serious, unavoidable situation arises?

There are many situations that can arise unexpectedly and cause people to miss their appointment. Sickness of a friend or family member, accidents, traffic problems, parking difficulties, transport cancellations, strikes, and freak or severe weather to name a few. We appreciate that when people do not attend they have very serious or distressing reasons for not doing so, but our policy exists to protect our team.

 

• What if my employer has suddenly asked me to work late?

Employers often make demands of their staff at brief notice, usually with no knowledge or appreciation that their staff may have already made other commitments. A simple conversation with your employer/manager to explain that, while you are happy to work, you have already made an appointment for which you will be charged usually always results in either an offer to pay for your missed appointment (we can provide an official receipt), or them telling you that the work wasn’t that important. With your permission, we are also happy for your workplace to contact us for verification of your appointment.

 

• What if my health or circumstances are unpredictable?

Booking an appointment in advance means you secure a date and time that is convenient. Unpredictable health or many other matters may keep a client from attending. We recommend that you do not make appointments in advance and try to make an appointment on the day. We try to help by keeping some appointments available for people at brief notice, however at busy times these appointments will be offered on a first come basis.

 

• What if I need to change my appointment several times?

You may change your appointments as many times as you need, so long as we are given over 24 hours’ notice of any changes or alterations.

 

• What if I made my appointment on the day and then needed to change it?

When booking an appointment ‘on the day’ it is essential to make sure you will attend, as any cancellation or alteration would automatically be less than 24 hours’ notice. The only exception to this is where it is possible to bring forward an appointment from a later time to an earlier time on the same day, assuming an earlier appointment was available.

 

• If I am running late will they will still see me?

When an appointment is made, we reserve time for you, and we will always try our best to use that time in the most effective way possible. However, depending on the time remaining, some services may not be offered in full, or at all. For example, it may be possible to offer the remaining time of a massage, or time enough to allow the podiatrists to treat one particular problem, but there may not be enough time to treat every foot problem in how the full time would allow. Another example may be where there was enough time to assess or review a physiotherapy or osteopathy client, but not enough time to provide the full treatment. Some beauty treatments may not be possible at all. In situations where a customer’s lateness affects our ability to undertake or complete a treatment, we would class this as a missed appointment and we would request the full fee.

 

• What if the practice is running late?

Like our time, we know that your time is very important and we try to run as close to appointment times as possible. However, as a medical practice, this is not always possible. For example, if someone has serious or complex problems we would not cut short something necessary for us to do, such as appropriately deal with a serious injury, and this may cause us to overrun. Our appointments are distributed so we will see you in a timely manner so, if we are running late, you will be seen as quickly as possible and we will always make sure you are given the full attention and care when you are seen.

 

• What if I need to cancel an appointment and the practice is closed?

Even on Sundays and public holidays our practice receives important telephone messages that are logged, time stamped and checked so we can notify our team of changes in their timetable. So long as you leave a message of cancellation with over 24 hours’ notice no charge will be made, even if we are closed.

 

• This is the first time I have ever missed my appointment.

The vast majority of our customers are longstanding and have excellent records of attendance. We completely understand why, on the first and only occasion that an appointment cannot be kept, people feel aggrieved that we request payment. However, on an average day we will get 4-5 people not keep their appointments who this has never happened to before, damaging the livelihoods of our therapists. We hope that in the event of some misfortune you can appreciate why we have this policy, even if this has never happened before.

 

• What if we cancel your appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice?

In the event of being unable to operate because of sickness, power cuts or some other crisis we ensure that we will do everything in our power to deliver our services, or offer an alternative, but we cannot provide any compensation if we need to cancel your appointment.

 

• What if I do not agree with the policy?

By making our clients aware of our policy and explaining the reasons for this policy, we should never find ourselves in the position where a client subsequently disagrees with this policy when misfortune strikes. If you do not agree with our policy, you must speak to us about this immediately, before you miss an appointment, so we can try to assist you in seeking an alternative provider of healthcare. We cannot offer you care if you do not agree to our policy.

 

• Would you like to come back to our practice and see our team again?

When you cannot attend, for any reason, this is the simple question our customers should ask. If we did not have this policy to protect the livelihoods of our team, the same therapists that you know and value would not be here, and neither would our business. By accounting for their time that you could not keep, you ensure that we continue to still be here to help when you can next attend.

 

Thank you for your attention and respect for our policy and team.