Terms & Conditions

These are the terms and conditions which govern the provision of our services to you and your treatment by Dr Dimitriou. They tell you who we are, how we will provide services to you, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information.

Please read these terms carefully before you make your appointment with us and keep a copy of them in a safe place. By making an appointment with us to receive treatment from Dr Dimtriou you are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions.

We may occasionally update these terms and conditions and they were last updated on 17^th April 2020.

INFORMATION ABOUT US and HOW TO CONTACT US

a) Your treatment will be provided by Dr Christos Dimitriou MBBS (Greece) MRCPsych Consultant Psychiatrist. Dr Dimitriou provides his services throughCD Practice Limited which is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 08899166 and its address is at 925 Finchley Road, London, NW11 7PE.

b) Unless otherwise agreed all outpatient consultations and appointments will be provided at any of the following practice sites (the site will be confirmed when you make your appointment):

c) If you wish to make an appointment or have any queries about an appointment, your treatment, or these terms and conditions then you can contact us by telephoning or sms messaging the practice secretary on 07720558940 or by emailing the practice secretary at secretary@christosdimitriou.co.uk.

d) If we have to contact you we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to us when booking your initial consultation or any revised contact details you may have provided us with subsequently and which we have confirmed we have received.

e) All treatment is given in good faith, and according to current best practice guidelines. However, the effectiveness of the treatment given depends very much on you. You must reply honestly when asked for information by Dr Dimitriou and you must not withhold information or not tell the truth.

f) As a member of the General Medical Council, Dr. Dimitriou operates by its Guidelines and Code of Ethics. If you have any queries or issues about the treatment being provided, please feel free to discuss these with us at any point using the contact details set out above.

g) CD Practice is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where the patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times and the safety of everyone is of paramount importance. All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure. If you would like a chaperone to be present, please inform us when making the booking or no  later than 48hrs before the start of the consultation (or, as soon as is reasonable  possible if the appointment has been booked at short notice) to enable one to be arranged. In some circumstances Dr Dimitriou, may require a chaperone to be present. If, during the consultation, an examination of a female patient is required, Dr Dimitriou will offer to provide a chaperone for this purpose. If the patient declines the offer of a chaperone, this will be recorded in the patient’s medical records

h) If a chaperone is requested but is not available then Dr Dimitriou reserves the right to re-arrange the appointment to a later date, time or practice site, where a chaperone may be made available. If an alternative practice site is suggested and it is not easy or practical for you to travel to then a video consultation may be offered.

OUR RIGHTS TO MAKE CHANGES

a) We may change these terms and conditions from time to time to comply with changes in the law or regulatory requirements or changes in the practice. Where these changes are minor we do not need to notify you and the most current version of our terms and conditions will be those on our website (www.christosdimitriou.uk) unless we inform you otherwise. You should check the terms and conditions on our website regularly and before each appointment.

b) Where however a change to these terms and conditions is more substantial (such as a change in our charges) then we will notify you in advance of your next appointment and you will have the choice whether to end the contract with us or to proceed with your appointment.

OUR CONTRACT WITH YOU

a) If you wish to book a consultation with Dr Dimitriou then you can do so by emailing, sms messaging or calling the practice secretary (see paragraph 1c) above). Our acceptance of your booking will only take place when we call or email you to accept and confirm your appointment, at which point (but not before) a contract will come into existence between you and us. We will use the mobile number that you provided us with at the time you made the booking unless you have provided us with an alternative telephone number to use in the meantime. All appointments (and changes to appointments) will be confirmed by email or sms message

b) If we are unable to accept your appointment request, we will inform you and will not charge you.

CANCELLED AND CHANGED APPOINTMENTS

a) If you wish to cancel or make a change to an appointment you have booked with us, then such request must be made to us via email or sms text message to the practice secretary as soon as possible using the details shown in paragraph 1 above and within the time periods stated below.

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ – 48 hour cancellation policy.

Please note we operate a strict 48 hour notice policy for cancellations and changes to appointments by patients. This means that where you notify us that you wish to cancel or re-arrange an appointment with less than 48 hours’ notice before the relevant appointment time and we are unable to fill your reserved appointment slot with another patient, then you will be charged the full fee for that appointment.

However where appointments have been booked at short notice with less than 48hours notice available, then notifications for cancellations or changes must be received by us within the shorter time period we may have confirmed to you when accepting your booking.

We take your confidentiality very seriously. If you have requested a video or telephone consultation and Dr Dimitriou believes that your confidentiality may be compromised, for example you are in a public place e.g. a pub, taxi or restaurant, and can be overheard by others then, if you are unable to find a private place quickly, he reserves the right to cancel the appointment. Should this happen then you will be asked to reschedule to a date and time when you are able to ensure that you are in a private place. Under such circumstances the appointment fee will not be refunded and a new appointment must be made.

b) Your Requirement To Re-Confirm Your Booking

For Patients For Whom A Third Party Is Paying: If a third party (for example a solicitor or insurer) is settling your treatment fees after the appointment then you are required to re-confirm your booking either 48hrs ahead of the scheduled appointment or any shorter deadline we may have detailed in your booking confirmation.  This is to avoid a situation where you fail to turn up without giving us the required cancellation notice so we are unable to fill your slot with another patient and, may be unable to recover your missed consultation fee from your third party payer.

We will always try to send you a reminder of your appointment in advance of the appointment date but are not responsible for failures in technology or where you fail to read your emails or SMS texts

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not re-confirm your appointment as requested, then you agree we are entitled to assume that you do not wish to keep your booked appointment and reserve the right to cancel it and offer your booked appointment slot to another patient.

Where we do so, we will notify you of the cancellation and offer you the opportunity to re-book. You acknowledge and accept that we may not be able to accommodate a time and date of your first choice when re-booking, particularly if you wish to have a consultation in person and this will be subject to availability.

For Self-Paying Patients: Payment must be made 48hrs in advance of the appointment or, if the appointment is made at short notice, then as soon as is practically possible and by the deadline that will be provided to you in writing (email or SMS) when your booking is confirmed. Dr Dimitriou reserves the right to extend the deadline for payment.

As you are paying in advance you are not required to re-confirm your booked appointment but if you wish to cancel or request a change to your booked appointment you must still do so no later than 48 hours (or such shorter time as may have been confirmed to you when we accepted our booking) prior to the date and time of your appointment to ensure that you comply with our cancellation policy (see above).  If you fail to do so then you will be charged the full fee for that appointment.

c) If you requested that your appointment be re-arranged or the delivery method changed (for example from a video or telephone appointment to a face to face consultation in person) then we will try to accommodate your request.  If we are able to accommodate your request, then the strict 48 hour cancellation policy stated above applies to the amended appointment and, if a third party is paying your treatment fees, again you will be required to re-confirm the appointment without delay on receipt of our reminder.

d) Occasionally Dr Dimitriou may be delayed whilst in consultation with other patients or through circumstances outside his control, which could cause a delay to the start of your appointment. In these circumstances you agree to wait for at least 30 minutes. If you depart before waiting 30 minutes then we will still charge you the full fee for your appointment.  If the delay is more than 30 minutes and you are unable to wait longer then we will not charge you for your appointment and where we have taken payment in advance we will refund this to you.  We will also contact you to re-arrange an alternative appointment date.

e) We are not responsible for delays outside our control. If we are unable to provide the treatment to you on your appointment date due to an event outside our control then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay. Provided we do this we will not be liable for the delay caused by the event, but if there is a risk of substantial delay you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for any appointments or services you have paid for but not received.

CHARGES AND PAYMENT

a) Charges for consultations and other services we provide will be calculated in accordance with our then current fee rates and will be the price told to you over the telephone or confirmed in the course of email exchanges when booking your consultation or requesting the service. Details of our current charges are also available on request.

b) We reserve the right to increase our charges from time to time and where you are currently receiving treatment from Dr Dimitriou we will notify you of any increases which may affect you prior to your next appointment so that you can decide whether you wish to continue with your treatment or whether you wish to end the contract with us. If you wish to end the contract and discontinue your treatment by Dr Dimitriou in these circumstances please contact us in accordance with paragraph 1c) above.

c) If you arrive late to an appointment (but still within the appointment duration) then your appointment will commence with your arrival but only until the end of the booked time slot to avoid incurring delays to other patients. You are not entitled to any reduction in the fee charged for your appointment as a result of your own delay. You are also not entitled to any reduction in the fee charged for your appointment should you decide to leave your appointment before the end of the booked time.

d) Where your appointment overruns the allocated time slot then we reserve the right to charge you for the extra time calculated on a time spent basis at Dr. Dimitriou’s current hourly rate.

e) Where Dr Dimitriou is required to review medical notes sent from your insurers or other parties involved in your care and/or write formal reports or letters on your behalf then you will be charged an additional fee for this service calculated on a time spent basis at Dr. Dimitriou’s current hourly rate.

f) We take all reasonable care to ensure that the price advised to you is correct. If we accept and process your appointment request where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing, then you agree to pay us the difference between the pricing error and the correct price.

PAYMENT

a) We accept payment by most credit and debit cards. Credit/debit card details are required for booking and reserving all appointments unless a different payment system has been agreed and details sent by email and/or SMS, (for example advance payment via a secure email payment link). Card details received may be stored securely for use towards future appointments, any outstanding charges for past appointments, telephone advice, prescriptions and medical reports. Where we are not operating a credit card facility or secure link payment system, payment can be made at our discretion either by cash or BACS transfer, prior to the date of the consultation.

b) Authorisation to deduct charges. By providing card details, you are authorising your credit or debit card to be charged for the above. Insurance is a third party contract and patients are directly responsible for the payment of their sessions. If a patient’s insurance does not cover in full the cost of any consultation booked then the patient will be responsible for paying the shortfall and the amount will be taken from the credit/debit card used to book the appointment.

c) Payment in advance. Where you are paying for the consultation yourself and not through an insurance policy then payment for all consultations is required at least 48hrs ahead of the appointment date unless the appointment has been booked at short notice, in which case payment will be required by the deadline that will be given to you in writing (email or SMS) when confirming the booking. This deadline may also be extended at Dr Dimitriou’s discretion. You authorise us to deduct the charges due from your credit/debit card if card details have been provided to pay for appointments (see paragraph 6b) above). If a third party has provided card details to pay for your appointment then advance notification of any booking you make will be given to that person (by email or SMS) at least 24hrs before the card is charged.

d) Consequences of a failure to pay. Where we are unable to obtain payment from the credit/debit card you provided us with, or such payment is subsequently revoked, or you otherwise fail to pay us the charges when due to us under these terms and conditions then:

• We reserve the right to charge interest on the overdue amount at the annual rate of 4 per cent above the then current Bank of England base rate. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the date payment of the outstanding amount was due until the date payment is made (whether before or after any judgment is obtained) and the interest shall be compounded quarterly;
• We may refer the matter to our debt collection agents (whose charges will be added to and payable with the amount outstanding). Any legal administrative and other administrative fees (e.g. tracing to confirm an address is correct) will also be added.
• We also reserve the right to claim for our reasonable costs each time we try to recover the debt, e.g. time spent preparing updated invoices and emails.

e) Any outstanding balances must be paid before follow-up appointments are booked and we reserve the right to refuse to accept any follow-up bookings where balances are outstanding.

CONFIDENTIALITY

a) We may request photo id at the initial consultation to confirm your identity and may also need certain information from you in order for Dr Dimitriou to provide you with the appropriate treatment. If so, this will have been told to you over the telephone or duringthe course of email exchanges or in your initial consultation with Dr Dimitriou. If you do not give us this information within a reasonable time of us asking for it, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information, we may either end the contract with you or make an additional charge of a reasonable sum to compensate us for any extra work that is required as a result. We will not be responsible for any delay in providing you with our services or not supplying any part of them if this is caused by you not giving us the information we need within a reasonable time of us asking for it.

b) Please rest assured that the content of your consultation with Dr Dimitriou is subject to a duty of confidentiality between doctor and patient and we shall keep in strict confidence all information of a confidential nature that is disclosed to Dr Dimitriou, us or any of our employees by you and not disclose such information to any third party without your prior written consent or unless such disclosure by us is required by law.

c) Dr Dimitriou may discuss your case on an anonymised basis with a professional colleague (this is standard practice and sometimes a professional requirement). However, no information which could identify you would be given without your prior written permission except that you agree that in cases where your own safety or the safety of others may be in question the rule of confidentiality may be waived and your identity can be disclosed but only to the extent necessary to ensure your safety or that of others.

d) For further details on how we may use your personal information please see paragraph 5 below.

MEDICATION AND PRESCRIPTIONS

a) Medication can have a variety of side effects. It is important that you notify Dr Dimitriou of any drugs (prescription or otherwise) you are currently taking as these can alter the effectiveness and affect the side effects of any medication taken. It is also very important that you ensure that any medication prescribed is taken correctly.

b) If Dr Dimitriou prescribes medication for you then he will need to notify your GP on what has been prescribed, in the interest of your clinical safety. This is important to ensure that your medical care givers are fully informed. If you refuse to provide consent to inform your GP of medication prescribed, then Dr Dimitriou may be unable to give a private prescription to you and we reserve the right to discharge you from the practice if we feel the lack of consent compromises your treatment.

c) Dr Dimitriou may prescribe medication for you during your consultation appointment, where he does there is no additional charge made by us for that prescription. However where you require prescriptions outside of consultations, then an administrative fee is charged (this is currently £45 and we reserve the right to increase this charge)

REFERRAL TO A SPECIALIST

Dr Dimitriou works with a team of further specialists and may deem it necessary in order to ensure that you receive the appropriate treatment, to refer you to another specialist. If this is the case Dr Dimitriou will inform you of this and should you decide to accept Dr Dimitriou’s suggestion then, Dr. Dimitriou will refer you to the specialist he considers appropriate. Dr Dimitriou shall not be held liable for the treatment provided by other specialists. Should you at any time be unhappy with the further specialist, Dr. Dimitriou would be happy to discuss this with you and refer you to an alternative specialist.

AlCOHOL AND DRUGS

On the day of your appointment with Dr Dimitriou you must not take any alcoholic drinks and/or recreational drugs before arriving. Smoking is not permitted inside clinic buildings.

TERMINATION OF TREATMENT

We may decide to stop acting for you with good reason, for example, if you do not pay an interim bill, or a proper request to pay a reasonable sum on account of our costs or disbursements is not complied with, or if you fail to give clear or proper instructions on how we are to proceed, or you give us instructions which conflict with our rules of professional conduct.

There may also be occasions when Dr Dimitriou feels that the therapeutic relationship has broken down and he can no longer continue as the treating physician for example, due to verbal or physical insults. We will notify you of any such decision and all effort would be made to facilitate a quick transfer of your care as requested to an alternative provider.

HOW WE MAY USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Notice a copy of which can be found on our website at https://www.christosdimitriou.co.uk/privacy-policy.

COMPLAINTS

a) If there are any aspect of our services that you are unhappy about we operate a client complaints procedure, a copy of which is available on request. The practice secretary is the complaints handling person for CD Practice Limited and you should raise any concerns you may have over our services with the practice secretary in the first instance. This is Stage 1 of our complaints process. Complaints should normally be made as soon as possible to help us to resolve this quickly. If you make a complaint after 6 months the escalation procedure set out below may not be available in full to you if it is not possible to make a reasonable adjudication of matters raised, due to the time past

b) We are members of the Independent Doctors Federation. Therefore if for any reason you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint, you may be entitled to ask the Complaints Manager at the Independent Doctors Federation to consider it (Stage 2 of our complaints process). Your complaint must be submitted in writing to the following contact details: IDF, The Medical Society of London, Lettsom House, 11 Chandos St, London W1G 9EB no later than 6 months of raising it with us first if we have been unable to resolve the issue to your satisfaction.

c) If you are unhappy with the decision of the IDF then the complaint may be escalated to ISCAS within 6 months of the IDF’s decision (Stage 3 of our complaints process). For more information on the complaints proceedure of the IDF please visit https://www.idf.uk.net/complaints-compliments.aspx

OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS

a) Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

b) These terms and conditions govern the provision of all services by us and your treatment by Dr Dimitriou. Any variation to these terms and conditions shall only be binding when agreed in writing by us.

c) Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you but we continue to provide the products, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.

d) These terms are governed by English law and the English courts have jurisdiction to hear any disputes arising out or in connections with these terms and conditions.  However if you are resident in Northern Ireland or Scotland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the services in either the Northern Irish or Scottish courts or the English courts