Appointment Booking, Reservation Fee, Payment and Cancellation Policy

This policy explains how appointments, reservation fees, payments, rescheduling and cancellations are handled at the clinic. These procedures are applied consistently, transparently and fairly to all patients.

1. Principles of Administrative Fairness

The clinic operates clear administrative procedures for appointment scheduling, reservation fees, payments and cancellations. These policies are applied consistently, transparently and without discrimination to all patients.

Clear administrative procedures allow the clinic to:

• manage clinical time efficiently
• ensure fair access to appointments for all patients
• minimise unused clinical capacity

These procedures are implemented in accordance with recognised UK healthcare governance and consumer fairness principles.

2. Appointment Requests and Tentative Booking Holds

Appointment requests are initially treated as provisional until confirmed.

Typical booking process

1. A patient requests an appointment date.
2. The clinic offers an available appointment slot provisionally, pending payment of the Appointment Reservation Fee of £150.
3. The appointment is held for 48 hours only, awaiting payment and confirmation.

Payment methods

The Appointment Reservation Fee may be paid by:

• secure payment link
• bank transfer
• card payment over the telephone

3. Confirmation of Appointment

An appointment becomes confirmed for a specific date and time only when:

• the patient confirms acceptance of the offered appointment, and
• the required Appointment Reservation Fee is received by the clinic within 48 hours.

Until both steps are completed, the appointment remains provisional.

4. Release of Unconfirmed Appointment Offers

Appointment slots may be held for up to 48 hours pending payment of the Appointment Reservation Fee.

If payment is not received within this period, the provisional reservation expires automatically, and the appointment slot may be released without further notice to the patient.

Once paid, the Appointment Reservation Fee secures one specific appointment date and time.

If a patient responds after the 48 hour holding period, the clinic will check availability and offer the next available appointment if the original slot is no longer available.

This system is widely used in private medical clinics to avoid blocking clinical time unnecessarily and denying the service to other awaiting patients.

5. Appointment Reservation Fee

An Appointment Reservation Fee of £150 is required to secure every clinic appointment, including new consultations, treatment sessions and follow-up visits.

The reservation fee:

• reserves clinical time for a specific appointment date and time
• is allocated to that particular appointment only
• applies to every appointment

Relationship to consultation, treatment or procedure fees

The Appointment Reservation Fee is separate and independent from the consultation fee and from any procedure or treatment fee. It is not redeemed or deducted against the consultation fee or the procedure fee.

All procedure costs are discussed and agreed after clinical assessment. This structure is commonly used in other private medical and aesthetic clinics.

6. Validity of the Appointment Reservation Fee

The Appointment Reservation Fee is assigned to the specific appointment date reserved for the patient.

The fee is non-refundable except where adequate notice is provided (72 hours or more), in which case the fee may be transferred once. The rescheduled appointment must take place within two weeks of the original appointment date, subject to availability.

If further changes are requested, or changes are requested beyond the above period, the clinic may require a new Appointment Reservation Fee to secure an appointment outside the 2-week period.

This policy helps ensure fair access to appointments for all patients.

7. Cancellation and Rescheduling of Appointments

If the patient gives more than 72 hours' cancellation notice, the Appointment Reservation Fee may either be transferred (rescheduled) once only to a new appointment date, subject to availability, or be refunded on email request. The rearranged appointment must take place within 2 weeks of the original appointment date.

Any rescheduled appointment must take place once and within the two-week period from the original appointment date, subject to availability.

For further changes or additional rescheduling requests outside this period, the clinic will require a new Appointment Reservation Fee.

If less than 72 hours' cancellation notice is given, the Appointment Reservation Fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.

This reflects the loss of reserved clinical time that cannot usually be reallocated at short notice.

8. Non-Attendance

Failure to attend a confirmed appointment without prior notice will result in forfeiture of the Appointment Reservation Fee.

If a patient wishes to arrange a new appointment following non-attendance, a new Appointment Reservation Fee will be required.

Repeated missed appointments may result in the clinic requesting pre-payment of the Appointment Reservation Fee (£150) plus the consultation fee (£200), before further appointments are accepted.

9. Refund Policy

The Appointment Reservation Fee is not refundable in the following circumstances:

• cancellation notified in less than 72 hours
• more than one rescheduling request
• rescheduled appointment outside the two-week transfer period

Prepaid treatment packages or multi-session procedures

If a patient decides to discontinue treatment:

• refunds may be issued only for unused or untreated sessions, but NOT for treated sessions
• completed treatments or sessions are non-refundable

Courses of treatment are valid for 4 months from purchase, and all treatment sessions must be used within this time frame.

For non-attendance (no show)

No refund.

This reflects the clinical preparation and resources involved in treatment planning.

10. Administrative Discretion

In exceptional circumstances (for example illness or medical emergencies), the clinic may exercise reasonable administrative discretion when applying booking or rescheduling policies. Such decisions are made case-by-case while maintaining fairness to all patients.

11. Summary of the Appointment Booking Process

1. Patient requests an appointment.
2. Clinic offers an available appointment date.
3. Appointment is held provisionally for up to 48 hours.
4. Appointment becomes confirmed once the Appointment Reservation Fee is paid within 48 hours.
5. The Appointment Reservation Fee applies to every visit.
6. The Appointment Reservation Fee remains separate from consultation and procedure fees, and is never deducted from them.
7. The Appointment Reservation Fee is required to secure each clinic visit.
8. One rescheduling request within 2 weeks from the original date may be permitted with adequate notice (more than 72 hours).

Sources

• Care Quality Commission – Regulation 17: Good Governance
• General Medical Council – Good Medical Practice
• UK Government – Consumer Rights Act 2015
• Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners – Professional standards for aesthetic practice