TERMS & CONDITIONS/FAQs
WHY DO WE TAKE BOOKING FEES?
While we wish we didn’t have to insist on taking booking fees, our experience over the past few years has shown that it is very necessary in the smooth running of our clinic for a number of reasons:
- Due to high demand for our appointment slots, we find it is only fair to request booking fees in order to prioritise patients ready and eager to have their treatment versus those who are not yet completely sure and may not be ready to commit. This is of course completely fine and if there is ever any doubt we would always suggest that you give it a bit more time, thought and research before making an informed decision. In the meantime, the appointment can be allocated to someone who is happy to go ahead, and you can always come back to us once you are ready! If you need any guidance to help you make your choice just email us on enquiries@drsehrishclinics.co.uk and we will be happy to send you some information packs.
- The booking fees will also go towards our costs of running our clinics to the high standards that we do. This includes rents for our beautiful clinic locations, as well as the salaries of our staff and doctors. These are business costs that we have to pay whether the patient attends or not, and the alternative would be to have no booking fees but instead increase each individual treatment price by 25% to cover any (inevitable) missed appointments.
- We make no profit from our booking fee policy. It simply allows us to continue running the clinic as normal with as little disruption as possible.
HOW DOES THE BOOKING FEE POLICY WORK IF I WANT MULTIPLE TREATMENTS DONE TOGETHER?
– It is extremely common for patients to come to see us for several treatments together in one go. A typical example would be 3 areas of botox plus lip augmentation and tear trough rejuvenation. Since each of these treatments has its’ own dedicated appointment timeslot, we ask that you pay 3 separate booking fees. These will then be redeemable against their respective treatment.
– If you then decide that you no longer wish to have your tear troughs treated, that specific booking fee is forfeited however the other 2 are still redeemable.
IS THE BOOKING FEE REFUNDABLE?
*The booking fee is strictly non-refundable*
– However, if you let us know at least 2 weeks prior to your appointment we may be able to rearrange your appointment to a date that better suits you.
– The best way to contact us is via email: enquiries@drsehrishclinics.co.uk. Please include the following information in your email:
- Full name
- Date of Birth
- Treatment you were booked in for
- Date and time of your appointment
- The reason why you cannot attend
- Any alternative dates/times you can make it
– We love seeing you and we will always do our best to accommodate you. If however the diary space does not allow this, then the booking fee cannot be refunded nor redeemed against any future appointment.
– Similarly, if you’ve changed your mind about having any treatment at all, then the booking fee will again be forfeited.
– No one makes an appointment and pays a booking fee expecting not to attend. We get it – Life happens and sometimes its no-one’s fault. Maybe you are no feeling well, are running late, maybe you got the date/time mixed up, your car broke down or you’ve just found out you’re pregnant. These things can happen to anyone and this precisely why a booking fee is required – to cover us for such eventualities.
– Once again, this policy has been put in place for the sole reason to allow our clinic to run as smoothly as possible. The business costs incurred from no-show appointments is far too high to allow us to continue to run our clinic at the standard we have always taken pride in upholding.
COVID POLICY
– Under current government guidelines, if you have tested positive for COVID-19 then you have a duty of care to those around you to isolate for 10 days. Similarly the government may decide to reintroduce travel or clinic restrictions.
– In these scenarios we will be happy to rearrange your appointment to a later date.
– Please email us on enquiries@drsehrishclinics.co.uk with your confirmation of a positive covid test (NHS tests are free for those with symptoms, and they will usually send you a text to confirm the results). Once confirmed we will try our best to accommodate you.
DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR A CONSULTATION?
– Your booking fee will cover you for the appointment time slot you have booked, whether you’d like to use it for a consultation only or a consultation followed by treatment.
– During your consultation you will have an opportunity to sit with a highly medically trained industry expert with over 10 years of experience in the field. All our doctors are dental surgeons and have undertaken several years of post-graduate training to further refine their skills.
– During the consultation we will have an in depth discussion of your concerns, how this affects your life, your current diet and exercise routine, your desired outcome, a detailed skin analysis etc. We will then discuss all options available to you and also refer you for a surgical opinion if we feel this is a more appropriate route. Essentially we use this time to ensure we are equipped with all the key information necessary to formulate a tailored treatment plan that works for you, your lifestyle and your budget.
WHAT IF I AM LATE TO MY APPOINTMENT?
– Your booking fee covers you for the time slot you have booked. Usually these are 30, 45 or 60 minute appointments.
– Within this time we have to carry out patient registration, medical history checks, an in depth consultation and formulation of a treatment plan, as well as pre-op paperwork, carry out the actual treatment and take photographs for our clinical records, and then go through post-op care.
– We always take our time with every stage of this process as nothing comes above your safety for us. This means that sometimes we naturally run over the allocated time – which we’re happy to do as long as it means we have done our job thoroughly and you leave us happy. In this sense it is not much different to visiting a GP or Dental surgery – we have a duty of care towards our patients and we won’t be dictated to by the clock when it comes to ensuring the best possible patient care.
– Unfortunately this means we need our patients to be as punctual as possible. We always request that you get to us 10 minutes before your appointment start time so that we can get the paperwork out of the way, and no later than 10 minutes past the appointment start time.
– We have many patients travel several 100 miles to get to us on time, others who book their appointments in between important business meetings, some who need to be done on time for the school run, and others who need to catch a train straight after their appointment. If a patient runs late (in addition to the inevitable delays which occur when running a medical clinic), then this has a domino effect on the rest of the day and other patients’ schedules and this isn’t fair.
– We also have specific working hours at the clinics we work from and this means by the time we get towards the end of the working day, we find we do not have enough time left to see the last few patients and end up having to rearrange appointments which again is unfair and hugely disruptive.
– As such, if a patient is more than 10 minutes late then the booking fee is forfeited and the appointment is cancelled. If you are over 10 minutes late but we still have time for a consultation, we can do this however no treatment will be carried out and a new appointment (with a new booking fee) is needed if treatment is required.
– If you are late but wish to wait on standby on the day of your appointment, we would be happy to contact you in case we have any cancellations. If we do not, then the booking fee is forfeited.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME OF DAY TO BOOK?
– If you have important meetings or errands to run after your appointment, or if it crucial for you to be seen on time, we strongly advise that you book an early morning slot (before 11am).
– We always advise patients to try not to book other appointments directly after your appointment with us as we cannot guarantee you will be done in time as planned.
– If you know that you need filler dissolved, always book in before 1pm so that we can see you as early as possible and review you later on the same day if necessary for safety reasons.
WILL I ALWAYS BE ABLE TO HAVE A CONSULTATION AND TREATMENT IN THE SAME APPOINTMENT SLOT?
– Whilst the majority of the time the answer is yes, it is never a given that treatment will be carried out on the day and there are hundreds of reasons why this might be the case. These include but are not limited to: Poorly placed/poor quality filler which must be dissolved first; pre-existing filler which is incompatible with ours; medical contraindications; pregnancy or breastfeeding; scar tissue in the area; previous surgery; cold sores; anatomical contraindications; previous Botox that was done within 12 weeks etc.
– The list is far too long to publish here and this is why we always start off with an in-depth consultation, as without this neither the patient nor the practitioner can predict whether treatment is appropriate.
– We understand it can be disappointing to be told on the day that you will need your filler dissolved, for example, before we can go ahead with treatment. However, the need to dissolve your filler cannot be predicted by us beforehand. We need to see you in person, palpate the tissues, assess the skin and blood flow, look for scar tissue etc. Similarly if you do not inform us beforehand that you are pregnant and only mention it to us on the day, then the appointment will have to be cancelled and the booking fee forfeited.
– If you are ever unsure, you can always contact us to double-check prior to booking. It is the patients’ responsibility to be open and honest about their medical history.
– If, for example, you booked in for lip filler but your Dr decides it is better to dissolve your previous filler before retreating, then you will be charged for a dissolving session that day. You can then book another appointment for lip filler no less than 4 weeks later, and this will incur a separate booking fee (but remember this is redeemable against the cost of your treatment).
– We pride ourselves in our ability to ensure patient safety and upholding our patients’ best interests at all times, and as such, the most important skill of all is knowing when to treat and when not to. This is an extremely important ethical standard that we strive to maintain. If we inform you that our treatments are not appropriate for you, we will always do our best to point you in the right direction or refer you if necessary.
WHAT IF I HAVE A BIG EVENT COMING UP?
– The nature of the treatments carried out at our clinic mean that there is always a risk of pain, swelling, bruising and/or bleeding. This can never be predicted (e.g. some people always bruise, while others never do!). Recovery from injectable treatments can take up to 2 weeks.
– To be on the safe side, we therefore always advise patients not to have any treatments done within 8 weeks of a big event. Why take the risk?!
WHAT IF I SUFFER FROM COLD SORES?
– Cold sores are unpredictable and can flare up when you have a feel under the weather, a low immune system, are stressed, or when the skin barrier is broken.
– Therefore if you have a history of cold sores and have an upcoming appointment with us for (facial) injectibles, we strongly suggest speaking to your GP for a prescription of Acyclovir and start using this at least a week beforehand. This is an anti-viral drug which protects against the Herpes Simplex Virus responsible for cold sores. This will help prevent any breakouts following treatment.
– If you develop a cold sore on the day of your appointment, you are welcome to come in for a consultation, however we will not be able to treat you due to the high level of infectiousness and risk of spread. Your booking fee will cover this consultation but a new booking fee is required for any future appointments for treatment.
– If you decide not to attend at all, your booking fee is forfeited as per our booking fee policy.
REVIEW APPOINTMENTS
– Sometimes review appointments are needed to settle any concerns you may have. If you are concerned about your symptoms post-treatment, are worried about the healing process, or are not satisfied with the outcome of your treatment, please contact us and we will be happy to help you.
– We usually recommend 6 weeks after dermal filler treatment to allow it to settle completely so that we can assess the final result, and 4 weeks following toxin treatment. Of course exceptions apply in some cases or in emergencies.
– If it is decided that a review is necessary, our doctors will get you booked in and no booking fee is required for this. We like to be able to follow up our cases and help our patients where ever we can. Sometimes this means just offering some reassurance when a patient is worried about bruising or swelling; and sometimes the patient may need a little top up (sometimes needed in the case of toxin treatments). Clinical photographs will be taken again and these will be compared to your pre-op photos to determine how to manage the case.
– If you have had toxin treatment in the face and need a top up (this may sometimes be the case as the way toxin affects facial muscles differs from patient to patient), this will be done free of charge. This is of course based on clinical need and is down to the discretion of the doctor.
– If you have had dermal fillers and are not satisfied with the outcome, it may be the case that further treatment is necessary. If this is the case, further charges will apply for additional filler used.
– If you fail to attend your free review appointment (or are late) and still wish to be seen, another appointment with booking fee will be required.
WHEN IN DOUBT, JUST ASK!
– The best way to reach us is via email on enquiries@drsehrichclinics.co.uk.
– We have a fantastic admin team who will do all they can to answer your questions, and if they can’t they will refer your question to our doctors who will contact you themselves for a chat!
These terms and conditions must be read and accepted by all patients wishing to book in with Dr Sehrish Clinics. By booking an appointment with us it is mutually acknowledged that you have read, agree with and accept all of the Terms and conditions detailed above.
⚠ BOOKING FEES ARE STRICTLY NON REFUNDABLE⚠