Patient Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction and Nature of This Agreement

These Terms and Conditions govern the professional services provided by North London Psychiatrist, a trading name of LKMG Consulting Ltd (registered in England and Wales, Company No. 16377040), whose registered office is at 20 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU (referred to in these Terms as “the Practice”, “we” or “us”).

By booking an appointment, you (“the Patient” or “you”) enter into a legally binding commercial contract with the Practice for the provision of private psychiatric services. Please read these Terms carefully before confirming your booking. If you do not accept these Terms, you should not proceed with booking.

These Terms apply to all consultations, assessments, reports, treatment, prescribing, and any other services provided by the Practice.

2. Professional Regulation and Standards

The clinician providing your care is a medical practitioner registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and is subject to the GMC's standards of professional conduct and ethics. Registration details are available on the GMC public register at www.gmc-uk.org.

All services are provided in accordance with applicable professional, ethical, and regulatory standards, including those set by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and relevant NHS England guidance, where applicable.

3. Fees and Payment

3.1 Fee Schedule

Our current fee schedule is published at northlondonpsychiatrist.co.uk/services. Fees are subject to change; the fee applicable to your appointment is that published at the time of booking.

3.2 Self-Paying Patients

If you are funding your own treatment, full payment is required at the time of booking via our secure online payment facility (powered by Stripe). Your appointment will not be confirmed until payment has been received in full.

3.3 Insurer-Referred Patients

If your insurer has agreed to fund your treatment, you may book an appointment without making an advance payment online. You must provide valid pre-authorisation details from your insurer prior to your appointment.

You remain personally and fully liable for all fees incurred if your insurer declines to pay, pays only in part, or delays payment for any reason whatsoever, including but not limited to: failure to obtain pre-authorisation, policy exclusions, policy excess or co-payment obligations, or any dispute between you and your insurer.

It is your responsibility to understand your insurance policy terms and to ensure that the services you receive are covered. The Practice is not party to your insurance contract and accepts no responsibility for any shortfall.

3.4 Prescriptions

Where private prescriptions are issued, a prescription fee of £25 per repeat prescription is payable. Initial prescriptions issued as part of a consultation are included within the consultation fee. Dispensing costs are separate and are charged by the pharmacy of your choice; these are not included in our fees.

We do not issue prescriptions without an appropriate clinical assessment. Repeat prescriptions are subject to clinical review at intervals determined by your treating clinician.

3.5 Debt Recovery

All invoices are due for payment within 14 days of the date of issue unless otherwise agreed in writing. In the event of non-payment, we reserve the right to instruct a third-party debt recovery agency or solicitors to recover any outstanding sums. You may be liable for any reasonable costs incurred in recovering the debt, including agency fees and legal costs.

4. Cancellation and Non-Attendance Policy

We operate a strict cancellation policy, reflecting the fact that appointment slots are reserved exclusively for you and cannot easily be reallocated at short notice.

Cancellations must be notified by contacting us via the details on our website or through the WriteUpp patient portal. The time of receipt of your cancellation notice will be used to determine which policy applies.

In exceptional circumstances (such as a medical emergency), we may, at our sole discretion, agree to waive or reduce the cancellation charge. Any such waiver is not a precedent and does not affect our right to enforce this policy on future occasions.

5. Consent to Assessment and Treatment

By attending an appointment, you confirm that you are providing your informed consent to psychiatric assessment and, where applicable, treatment. You have the right to withdraw consent at any time and to ask questions about your care before agreeing to any treatment plan.

Where a patient lacks capacity to consent, the Practice will proceed in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and applicable professional guidance. Consultations involving third parties (such as family members or carers) will only take place with appropriate consent or authority.

Consultations are provided for the named patient only. The Practice is not able to provide assessments or opinions about third parties who are not present as patients.

6. Scope of Service and Limitations

North London Psychiatrist provides private outpatient psychiatric services. We are not an emergency or crisis service.

The Practice will make reasonable efforts to respond to clinical queries between appointments but cannot guarantee same-day responses. If you have urgent clinical concerns outside of office hours, please use the emergency services listed above.

7. Data Protection and Privacy

The Practice processes your personal data, including special category health data, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The lawful bases on which we process your data are:

• Article 9(2)(h) UK GDPR: Processing necessary for the provision of health care and treatment by a health professional.
• Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR: Processing necessary for the performance of our contract with you.
• Article 6(1)(c) UK GDPR: Processing necessary for compliance with a legal obligation (e.g. GMC record-keeping requirements).

Your clinical records are stored securely within WriteUpp, a UK-based clinical practice management system. To support accurate clinical documentation, we use Heidi, an AI-assisted note-taking tool, which may process a transcript of your consultation in order to generate clinical notes. You will be informed at the start of any consultation in which Heidi is active and may opt out if you prefer notes to be taken manually. Administrative correspondence is handled via Microsoft Office 365. Each of these providers acts as a data processor on our behalf under a formal data processing agreement and is contractually prohibited from using your data for their own purposes. Records are retained for a minimum of eight years following the end of your treatment, in accordance with professional guidance, or longer where required by law.

Your data will not be sold to third parties. Data may be shared where required by law, with your insurer (to the extent necessary to process payment), or with other healthcare professionals involved in your care with your consent. You have the right to access your records, request correction of inaccurate data, request erasure in certain circumstances, and lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk. For full details, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

8. Communication Preferences and Security

By providing your email address and/or mobile telephone number, you consent to the Practice communicating with you by email and SMS for the purposes of appointment reminders, clinical correspondence, and invoicing.

Please be aware that email and SMS are not fully secure communication channels. Whilst we take reasonable steps to protect your information, we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted by these means. If you have concerns about the confidentiality of digital communications, please notify us and we will discuss alternative arrangements.

Appointment bookings and clinical queries should be made through the WriteUpp patient portal or by contacting us via the details on our website.

9. Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing a high standard of care. If you have a concern or complaint, we would ask you to raise it with us in the first instance so that we have the opportunity to address it promptly.

Complaints may be submitted in writing to us via the contact details on our website. We aim to acknowledge all complaints within five working days and to provide a full response within 28 working days.

If you remain dissatisfied following our response, you may refer your complaint to:

• The General Medical Council (GMC): www.gmc-uk.org | 0161 923 6602
• The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) for complaints about private healthcare providers: www.ombudsman.org.uk
• The Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS), if applicable.

10. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms, including any question regarding their existence, validity, or termination, shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer under English law.

11. Amendments to These Terms

The Practice reserves the right to amend these Terms at any time. The version in force at the time of your booking will apply to that appointment. The current version is always published on our website. Continued use of our services following any amendment constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.