Terms & Conditions
This website is owned and operated by Richmond Psychology Limited, trading as Orchard Clinic at
89 St Margarets Road
Twickenham
TW1 2LJ.
The full list of Directors of the Orchard Clinic is available from:
The Consultant Clinical Psychologist/Clinic Director in charge is:
Dr Heather Mays
BA, MS, MA, PsyD, CPsychol, CSci, AFBPsS
The clinic is owned and operated by the Directors of Richmond Psychology Limited.
The full list of other self employed practitioners working from the Orchard Clinic and their charging structure is listed on the website and may change from time to time without notice. Each practitioner will have their own terms and conditions of trading which may be different to the Orchard Clinic terms and conditions for using this website.
Website Content
When visiting this website you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this policy. Please be aware that the content on this website is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on this website.
Although we make reasonable efforts to ensure our information and content provided on this website is updated and reflective of the services that we provide, we do reserve the right to make changes to this website and these terms and conditions at any time without notice to our clients. We will update the terms on this website from time to time.
External links are provided for information and convenience only. Please be aware that we do not accept responsibility for the sites linked to, or the information found there.
We Are Not Responsible For Viruses And You Must Not Introduce Them
Although our website is regularly maintained to prevent any problems that may occur, please be aware that we do not guarantee that this website will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.
It is under your responsibility for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform to access this website. You should use your own virus protection software.
We do not accept misuse of this website by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to this website, the server on which this website is stored or any server, computer or database connected to this website. You must not attack this website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. In order for us to protect the website and its users, we will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use this website will cease immediately.
These terms of use, their subject matter and their formation, are governed by English law including any non-contractual disputes or claims. It is agreed that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction over any such disputes.
What You Can Expect From Your Initial Consultation With Dr Heather Mays
Your initial consultation will consist of an assessment, the purpose of an assessment is to build up an accurate picture of your needs in order to help aid a diagnosis, treatment plans and any other recommendations that Dr Heather Mays may feel necessary.
Other practitioners at the Orchard Clinic will adopt different strategies for assessing patients needs please read each individual practitioner’s terms and conditions listed via a links on this website.
Fees And Charges With Dr Heather Mays
Self-Pay
Dr Heather Mays accepts patients that are self paying for their treatment, as well as those who are covered by healthcare insurance. Prior to your initial appointment, all self-pay patients will be asked to make payment in advance via credit/debit card, cheque or bank transfer. Your follow up consultation fee should be paid on day of your appointment. If this appointment is cancelled with at least 24 hours notice a full refund will be issued.
Please be aware that it will be your responsibility to settle any unpaid fees with Richmond Psychology Limited.
Details of the fee structure for each practitioner will be different and may change without notice. This will include details of their fees and which insurance companies they are accredited by. Please read the terms and conditions of each practitioner on their individual web page on this website.
Private Medical Insurance
If you wish to claim for treatment through your health insurer, please contact you insurer prior to your initial appointment. You will be expected to provide a letter of confirmation from your insurance company prior to your appointment, which should state whether they will cover the costs of your sessions either partially or in full. If you are unable provide this prior to your appointment please contact us by email at:
to inform us, as we will have no other alternative but to cancel and re-schedule your appointment once you insurance confirmation letter has been obtained.
Dr Heather Mays is accredited by a number of different insurers, you can access this information on the Orchard Clinic website. If your insurers are not listed on the list of Dr Heather Mays accredited insurance companies, it is your responsibility to query this with your insurance providers prior to booking your appointment. A letter of evidence from your insurers will be required, to confirm that you will be covered for your session(s).
Dr Heather Mays may be required to provide a report or complete an insurance claim form for your insurer, we are happy to provide this for you with no additional charge. If you do require this at any point of your treatment, please request this through:
with a breakdown of what it is you need.
We do understand that information requests and claim forms can be time sensitive, and although we do our best to fulfil these requests, due to the Dr Heather Mays schedule we do require at least two weeks notice. We do also take in to account that some information and/or claim requests may occur abruptly and in these circumstances we may be able to make allowances on how quick we process your request.
Please be aware that it will be your responsibility to settle any unpaid fees with Richmond Psychology Limited, and we are not accountable or liable for any individuals insurance polices. It is also your responsibility to inform us if there have been any changes to your policy that may effect or restrict the access to your treatment.
Excess Fee
Some policies may have an excess fee, that you will need to settle with your insurance company. We recommend that you review this with your policy holder beforehand. Please be aware that any outstanding payment will need to be settled as per the protocol for self-paying patients. Failure to make payment may result in referring this onto our debt collecting agency.
Cancellation Policy
Appointments that are missed without the respected notice, result in a lost opportunity to offer the appointment time to someone else. If you should need to cancel your appointment, you will need to inform us at least 24 hours before of your appointment time, otherwise you will be held liable to a cancellation fee.
Cancellation fees are charged at the cost of a full consultation. Please be aware that if your insurance is paying for your sessions, they do not always pay for cancelled or missed appointments, this varies with each insurance policy and we recommend that you contact your insurance policy provider to enquire about this prior to starting your treatment. If your insurance does not cover this, you are responsible of settling any cancellation charge that you may incur.
We do make an exception to accidents and sudden illnesses, however it will be your responsibility to inform us of your circumstances or you may still face a cancellation charge.
Lateness Policy
All clinic appointments with Dr Heather Mays are booked by fixed hourly time slots, the full consultation time can be provided to you on the Orchard Clinic website. We do understand that on occasion patients may be late for an appointment, however it will be your responsibility to contact us to inform us if you are unable to meet your appointment time through:
or
telephone: 0203 198 3100.
It will be under your discretion whether you wish to still attend the appointment, however there will be no adjustments made to the appointment time. If you do wish to attend your appointment, your appointment will finish at the time it was originally booked. As we run a highly busy clinic, this leaves us with very little room to accommodate late comers. We respect that each patient has pre-booked their appointment to see Dr Heather Mays for a specific time and therefore do our absolute best in ensuring we are punctual and meeting the expectations of our patients. Please also be aware that if you wish to attend the shorter appointment due to lateness, you will still be charged for the full appointment time.
Dr Heather Mays makes every effort to be punctual with individual appointment times, but on occasion may be delayed in a consultation. If this does occur prior to your appointment, we take responsibility for this and will ensure you will get your full appointment time.
Telephone Enquiries
In some cases patients may wish to consult with Dr Heather Mays by telephone to discuss treatment plans, a change in circumstances, or any other health related queries that may arise. Due to our appointment structure with inpatients that have already pre-booked their appointments, it is not usually possible for Dr Heather Mays to take telephone queries. All telephone queries should be booked with a minimum of at least 24 hours notice, and this will be subject to availability. In a case of an emergency, Dr Heather Mays may be able to make some amendments to speak with a patient, however if it is a serious medical matter that requires urgent medical attention please contact emergency services on 111 or 999.
Email Enquiries
We do understand that for a vast amount of patients, emailing may be the most convenient method of communication to use when contacting Dr Heather Mays or secretary(s) to Dr Heather Mays. The GMC has advised us on the use of emails and their security. Although we have taken internal measurements to protect the confidentiality of our patients, please be aware that emails are not a completely secure method of communication and we recommend that you refrain from disclosing any sensitive or confidential information through email. Should you choose to email Dr Heather Mays or Dr Heather Mays secretary(s), we cannot be held responsible for what you choose to include in your email or any problems with you emails.
Please note Dr Heather Mays is not permitted to give you any personal email addresses(s) unless she chooses to do so. All contact should be made directly through her secretary at:
Dr Heather Mays may not always be able to review and respond to any emails prior to the consultation and we are unable to provide set response times due to the demands of the clinic. Due to the Dr Heather Mays schedule we do require at least two weeks notice for any emails requesting information. We do also take in to account that some requests for information may be time sensitive, we advise that you email us with the exact details of what you require and the date and time you need this by to ensure we are given as much time and information as possible to meet these requests.
Complaints Policy
If there is any problem with the services that we provide, please contact us and tell us as soon as reasonably possible, and we will investigate the problem under our complaints procedure and notify you in writing of the outcome. Every complaint is acknowledged within two working days, all complaints are then investigated and responded to in writing within 28 days of being made. We do try in every instance to meet this 28 day time frame, however if for any reason there is a delay with this process, we assure to notify you of this and keep you updated with the progress of the investigation. All complaints are reported to the Registered Manger, Dr Heather Mays, who is responsible for following through complaints for the company. In addition to this complaints are also reviewed within our Clinical Governance Committee meetings, in order to improve the quality of service provided to our patients.
Data Protection & Cookies
Cookies are small data files transferred to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser to enable our systems to recognise your browser and to provide us with details of how our website is used. A cookie does in no way or form gives us access to your computer or any personal information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us. You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website
Please note that we do not directly harvest or take the data from the website.
Cliniko
The database that we use to register and hold patient information is Cliniko which is an encrypted site in Australia. The link to the terms and conditions of Cliniko is:
https://www.cliniko.com/policies/terms
Squarespace
We use Squarespace as a method of passing on your inquiries to individual practitioners. The link to the terms and conditions of Squarespace is:
https://www.squarespace.com/terms-of-service/
We do not buy and sell information from third parties and wont pass on details without your consent, except in an emergency situation.
Data Portability/Information Sharing
Upon registration with us at the Orchard Clinic, we will from there on keep a record of any non medical details, such as; your name, address, date of birth, telephone(s), email address(s). This information will be stored on our secure data base. These details will be stored uniquely for administrative and accounting purposes only. Any clinical data stored on our secure data base will be strictly exclusive to Dr Heather Mays to have access to only.
In some cases patients may be seeing more than one therapist or clinician and may want to share details of their sessions with others that are dealing with their care. Patients have the right to request that we share your details with another practitioner, however we follow strict guidelines when sharing information and can only fulfil this request with written and signed confirmation from the patients themselves, clearly stating their consent.
Appointments
Dr Heather Mays secretary(s) is responsible for booking appointments and will predominately be your main point of contact. On occasion Dr Heather Mays may book in patients directly or near the end of your consultation. In order to prevent any mistakes with appointment bookings, we provide appointments cards and can send an email of confirmation upon your request. Both will include details of your appointment including the date and time. Please note all new patients who have booked in their initial consultation will receive an appointment confirmation with details of our address, practitioner, date and time, new patient documents and a summary of some of our policies.
Although Dr Heather Mays and her secretary(s) work hard to ensure that are all bookings are taken accurately, and that patients are aware of their appointment times, due to the large number of patients we deal with, human error or miscommunication may arise on occasion resulting in with errors with appointments. If it is at fault of out own, we will take full responsibility of this and waive any appointment charge. We will also make every effort to book you in for the next most convenient appointment. We do understand that mistakes may also be made at the fault of a patient, resulting in missed appointments. Although we do have some leniency towards this it is likely that a full cancellation fee will apply.
The Right To Be Forgotten
Under Article 17 of the GDPR, it is an individuals right to have their personal data erased. The right to erasure is also known as ‘the right to be forgotten’. Please be aware that this right is not absolute and only applies in certain circumstances. In order to gain an understanding of your rights in more depth you can visit: https://www.eugdpr.org/the-regulation.html
Information Requests
Under the practice of the GDPR, individuals have the right to obtain access to their personal clinical information. Dr Heather Mays can arrange to provide copies of documents held electronically. In line with the practice of GDPR copies will be provided free charge for you.
Disclaimer
In keeping in line with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and The Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) once a relationship has been established between consultant and patient from the point of your initial consultation, Dr Heather Mays will endeavour to meet and provide an exceptional level of psychological care for you. She will ensure to provide you with the most appropriate treatment plan catered to your needs, this may be adjusted where she feels necessary to ensure you are receiving the best quality of care possible.
Dr Heather Mays aims to see patients as frequently as required, and will advise you on what she deems appropriate based on your individual needs. Regular reviews may be advised in order to promote the consistency and progression of your treatment, however we do respect that this is dependent on your individual circumstances.
Please be aware that if you have not attended or communicated with Dr Heather Mays or her secretary(s), it will be assumed that you have self-discharged from our services. Although we are unable to delete any clinical records, patients that have not been seen for over six months will archive files. Should you wish to resume treatment at any time, we are still able to obtain and have access to your files, such as your treatment notes and your medical history throughout the time you have had treatment with us.
Please be aware that Dr Heather Mays reserves the right to change and increase her consultation fee at any time, with one months notice. Should there be an increase in her fee and you have not attended a consultation for over six months from the date of your last appointment, the new consultation fee will be applicable to you and any old rates will be overwritten. Your next appointment and any follow up appointments will from then on be charged in accordance to the new consultation fee.
Our Responsibility For Loss Or Damage Suffered By You
Please be aware that we cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to any personal belongings you have brought with you to the Orchard Clinic.
We recommend that you do not bring any valuables with you and any loss or damage to this will be at your own risk.
Under the guidance of the Care Quality Commission and Health and Safety at work etc Act 1974 we ensure that we are compliant with their fundamental standards. We take all the appropriate measurements in protecting our patients and ensure our premises are safe and secure at all times. The Orchard Clinic undergoes a number of risk assessments, which are updated when due to ensure the safety of our building in varying situations. Under the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 we have installed the adequate and appropriate equipment, as well providing sufficiently trained and competent first-aiders in the event of an accident and emergency.
If you have experienced any damaged caused to you inside the premises of the clinic or at fault of a members of staff, please report this to us and we will ensure to undergo a full and thorough investigation. In line with our company’s complaints procedure, all investigations will be acknowledge within two days and responded to within 28 days of being made. We do try in every instance to meet this 28 day time frame, however if for any reason there is a delay with this process, we will ensure to notify you of this and keep you updated with the progress of the investigation.
Please note that we are not liable to accept any blame or responsibility for damage or injury caused outside the premises of Orchard Clinic.
Contact
Orchard Clinic
89 St Margarets Road Twickenham TW1 2LJ