Terms and Conditions

The Practitioner

• Naturopathic advice will be tailored to support medically diagnosed conditions and/or health concerns agreed and identified by both client and practitioner.
• As an osteopath, I am a legally regulated primary healthcare professional and as such have the ability to diagnose and treat a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions and other issues relating to the structure and function of the body. The naturopathic advice will serve to complement, not substitute for medical advice already prescribed.

The Client

• You are responsible for contacting your GP or specialist about any health concerns you may have.   Please advise your GP or Primary Care Physician of the naturopathic protocol you will be following.  Please also advise any other complementary medicine practitioners you are consulting to ensure there is no overlap.  Be aware that we do not work alongside other practitioners who practise the same modalities as The Functional Osteopath, as this can create confusion.
• As a patient of The Functional Osteopath, you are encouraged to ‘own your own healthcare’. In other words, you need to take an active role in your journey to recovery. It is important that patient and practitioner work together as a team to achieve the desired outcome:
• I encourage you to ask questions about your health at all stages during your programme.
• If you would like to have a friend or relative accompany you during consultations then we are more than happy to encourage this.
• It is important that you let me know about any medical diagnosis you have received and any prescription medication, herbal medicine, food supplements or over the counter medication you are taking as it may affect your protocol.  In all events such as these, please book in for a consultation to ensure a correct and safe review of your supplements.  If you would like to discuss new supplement recommendations, please book in for a consultation. 
• The information you provide to me during consultations, via health and lifestyle questionnaires and including results of laboratory diagnostic testing, is entirely confidential.
• Exceptions to this confidentiality include disclosure by you regarding intention to harm yourself or others. Your record and the information contained within it will not be disclosed to others unless you direct me to do so or unless the law authorises or compels me to do so.
• Your naturopathic programme and supplement plan will have a time frame until review and you should not continue with all recommendations once this has elapsed as they may no longer be appropriate for you.  This is why the review framework is important Initial appointment and other appointment recommendations will be for a 4-6 week period unless otherwise specified. 
• Your programme will include supplementation.  If the supplemental advice is not taken on, this will have to be discussed before and may warrant a break in the contract. We will not be responsible for changes in condition if advice from The Functional Osteopath is not followed. This includes all diet, lifestyle or supplemental advice. If there is anything that is may be difficult to follow, you will need to address this in consultation or writing so that all parties are aware of the changes.
• If you are unclear about any part of your initial plan then you should contact me immediately for clarification by email.  Please report any concerns about your programme (implementation challenges, other issues) for discussion at your next consultation, which should be within 4-6 weeks of your initial appointment.  
• Each procedure and/or treatment carries with it both risks and benefits.
• Although your plan will be thoroughly researched and will be customised to your unique health status and your personal goals, no guarantees can be assured regarding the outcomes of treatment(s) or procedure(s).
• The treatment strategies recommended to you (in particular supplementation), are only appropriate whilst under our care and following the specific programme designed for you by The Functional Osteopath.

Length of your programme

• This varies by person. I work with people for months or years. Packages are generally designed for 1-3 months and you may need a maintenance programme.  We will decide on the option that best suits your needs. If you have booked a standalone appointment as a new patient to go over results, you will not receive further support unless you choose to sign up for a package or another session.
• You will usually receive your protocol notes up to 48-72 working hours after your initial appointment. 
• If your condition changes during the package time, the advice may no longer apply. I will have to review the case to see if you might be entitled to a refund for time not used or add more time to the existing package.

Appointments and calls

• All initial functional and osteopathic (bodywork) medicine appointments are 90 minutes in length. All osteopathic appointments are 60 minutes in length. Follow-up functional medicine appointments are 45 minutes but billed for an hour to include time I spend to amend notes.
• If you are a functional medicine client and I have not seen you for 6 months, you will need to book a new consultation.
• If you are a functional medicine client and your condition changes, we will need to book a new consultation.
• Initial stand-alone appointments will not receive a report, or a results review, rather a summary plan collated from intake forms and examination for next steps and findings. Those on packages will receive a detailed report.
• All appointments must be paid for in advance.

Emailing/Messaging Between Appointments

• You will have questions once you start your programme and so I am happy to correspond with quick and simple email returns. Depending on what kind of package you have purchased, you will receive some level of messaging support between your appointments.  If you have not purchased a package, I will ask you to save it until our next call or meeting so that I can better help you.
• I will not however respond to emails that require a lengthy response. If there is a need for a longer discussion, then I recommend that you schedule an additional follow-up consultation.
• If it has been longer than 12 weeks without any contact since your last appointment, you will need to schedule an appointment rather than email.
• If you wish to discuss new conditions or test results, please book an appointment.  Test results in particular require a discussion so please do not ask for an interpretation of results or supplement advice on email.  I will cover this in your next appointment to make appropriate recommendations.
• The timeline for email responses is 48-72 working hours but may respond sooner.  
• Please do not expect a response over the weekend.

Payment and Cancellation Policy

• You will be sent an invoice by email prior to your appointment. This invoice must be paid at least 2 days prior to the appointment date.
• Payment can be made by BACS.
• If payment is not received 2 days prior to the consultation, I reserve the right to cancel your appointment.
• You are responsible for full payment of fees for all consultations/the entire course of your package, regardless of whether you attend or complete your programme, and regardless of whether you have selected to pay a lump sum or in instalments. Failure to make the agreed payments will result in default of the Client Agreement and your agreement may be forwarded to a third party to recoup the full amount due for the remainder of your programme plus any costs incurred.
• When you schedule an appointment, time is reserved for you and no one else. Since the appointments are much longer than standard office visits, cancellations are significant disruptions to the clinic.
• For the packages, all appointments must be used within the respective time-frame of each package.
• All initial and follow-up ad hoc sessions are are paid in full before the appointment date.
• All other packages, except for the MB Transformation Package require at least 50% of the package cost to be paid before the first appointment. The intro MB Transform Package must be paid in full by the completion of the 3rd week.
• For the 3 month package the consultation amount of £440 is due before the initial appointment If paying in instalments and  the remainder of the 3 month package must be paid for by 6 weeks of the package start date. Instalment amounts can be determined by The Functional Osteopath and The Client.
• Cancellations or appointment rescheduling must be done at least 48 hours in advance before any appointment or a deduction of 30% of the consultation cost will be deducted from the advanced payment. Appointments and package cancelled or missed 24 hours (working day) of your appointment will be charged in full.

Using Your Package Appointments

If you choose not to continue with your package or you do not respond to communications to book you in for follow ups, then your package will be deleted when it expires and your account will be archived.  Unused appointments cannot be extended or used past the package time.

Zero tolerance policy

• We are aware that discussing your health concerns can be at times stressful and concerning for patients, however, the practice will not tolerate any incidents of violence, aggression or rudeness by any patients to the Functional Osteopath.
• In the event of any patient being rude or using threatening or abusive language on the telephone, by email or in any appointment, you will be informed by email that you are being removed from the Practice list forthwith and no further communication will take place between The Functional Osteopath and yourself. If you continue to be abusive, the police will be informed.
• We do not work with patients currently taking class A substances and may refer you on to seek alternative therapy.
• If we sense there is reportable activity at home involving threatening behaviour, abuse or criminal behaviour, we may refuse to continue to work with you and refer you for alternative therapy.
• We need total honestly in our work.  If we suspect you have an eating disorder or you do not disclose that you have an eating disorder, we will suggest you seek concomitant therapy.  If you have an eating disorder, you must work with a therapist while we work with you or we may not continue to work with you if this has not been disclosed.  Please note that all fees are non-refundable

Payments for Supplements and Functional Testing

• An account will be set up for supplementation through which you will receive my practitioner discount and payments are made directly to the respective companies via the links that are sent.
• All functional testing will be paid in advance either to the company providing them or to The Functional Osteopath via invoice.
• Functional tests ordered through The Functional Osteopath may incur an interpretation fee, but you will be made aware and invoiced separately. This is for clients not on a package.  Any tests ordered or provided by the patient will be included as part of the analysis for the plan as long as they are within the last 6 months of the initial consultation. 

Non-Disclosure of Materials and Intellectual Property

Materials that are given to you during the course of our work together, are copyrighted.  The Functional Osteopath Ltd retains ownership of its intellectual property.  You agree that such information is solely for your own personal use. Any distribution to a third party is strictly prohibited unless prior permission is gained.  This includes distributing material to friends or family or if you are a student practitioner, to your own patients.  You are not permitted to share or upload materials online or disseminate them publicly without written consent and legal action may be taken if this occurs.

Your Comments

Periodically, I may use comments written in an email or told over the phone, or ask you to write a few comments about our work together, as an evaluation or testimonial. It helps me to see what you liked about the process, what results you received overall and where I can keep improving our service to you. I thank you in advance for this.  I will send an authorisation request to use your first name if you are happy for me to do so.

Emergencies, after-hours care:

• I am not available on a 24-hour or emergency basis. Therefore, you must have a primary care doctor (GP) with whom you can consult in the event of an emergency or urgent problem.
• If you have a serious health problem that requires immediate attention, you should either call your GP or have someone take you to the nearest hospital emergency room.
• It is normal to experience some mild adverse effects from one or more of the components of your health plan. Please discuss this with me via email for guidance.
• Manual therapy can sometimes cause some discomfort after the session. I will always ask for your permission when doing any technique. Each person has a different tolerance to discomfort and also to manual therapy. Bruising can occur but this is definitely not a common occurrence. Some soreness is typically what is felt the next day and will go away with time.