SURGICAL DEPOSIT

Let's talk deposits.

 

First of all, why do we take them? 

As you're very likely aware, we are incredibly busy as a chain of clinics. We know a lot of clinics say this, but hand on heart, we genuinely are - and you'll know this if you've tried to book in. It's actually a little cray. We've been fully booked for every clinic we have run, for the best part of a decade now (long may it continue), regardless of location!

 

Which annoyingly means, that there is often a short wait to get in. We have 100K patients and only 10 doctors because we’re really fussy whom we have working for us. If you're not serious about the appointment for a consultation, allow another patient to have the slot they crave – and indeed the deposit helps with this process. If people aren't sure whether they will arrive or what they want, they tend not to pay the deposit and book in. This makes it easier for those whom are serious about it, to find a slot appropriate to their time scale. Which makes for a smoother service for everyone.

 

You'll also be aware, that we work from high end buildings and locations. It's part of the reason patients like visiting us! Harley Street in London, Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles are just 3 of our clinics. These places are of course, expensive to rent and often cost us £5k a day. Alas we still need to pay for the rent or mortgage, as well as the salaries of our staff and doctors, whether you attend or not. The deposit merely covers this and the cost of being open, and we make no profit from this at all. It allows us to practice from the beautiful locations we do, and add to the experience of the clinic itself. The alternative would be not to charge for a consultation fee, and deposit - but INSTEAD add a third on to the price of each treatment. It may also mean practicing from less desirable areas.  Focus groups would indicate that this is a last resort. 

 

As a practice, we decided this wasn't entirely fair - and that each patient should take responsibility for their turning up on time, and risking deposit loss, rather than the entire patient base bearing the brunt of this. We appreciate that it might not be your fault that you cannot attend - you've lost your job, you don’t feel well, you've found out you're pregnant, your car has broken down, or you've just plain changed your mind. No one pays a deposit, and expects that they aren't going to attend, which we understand. BUT, that is the whole point of taking a deposit in case of such eventualities - and if they are refundable, there is little point in them being taken in the first place. However, regardless of this - these non attendances incur business costs that potentially spiral into tens of thousands of pounds, when you have a large international patient base of over 100,000. We have also obviously had to pay several admin staff to book you in too, answer several questions, and send you information packs (such as this one!) , before you even arrive at the clinic and behind the scenes, and the deposit will cover this too.

Is the deposit refundable if I want to change or cancel my consultation?

No - the deposit is STRICTLY NON REFUNDABLE  unless you give us 2 weeks notice prior to your attendance, and the appointment slot is moved to within 2 weeks of the original slot. 

If you then have treatment on the day of the consultation, this is then redeemable against your treatment. If you book several consultations, and therefore pay several different deposits to reserve your slots - these are only redeemable against their respective slots. 

 

For example, if you have paid a deposit for a consultation for lip augmentation, another for Botox, and then liquid rhinoplasty –you’ll have 3 consultations booked. What if you then only proceeded with the Botox? 

 

The Botox consultation fee and deposit only, will be redeemed against that treatment. You cannot redeem the lips/ nose consultation fees against the Botox in addition. This makes patient think more carefully about what they really want, rather than book the entire afternoon out to hang with one of the doctors they’ve seen on Instagram.

Bear in mind, that for whatever reason - no one ever foresees the reason why they can no longer come, and again in the interests of fairness - we have to have the same rule for everyone without exception. We warn everyone at the time of booking that the deposit is non refundable - and thus whilst disappointing of course - it is fair and ethical.   

 

Is the consultation free?

 

The deposit is actually for your consultation fee. We only ever use doctors and dentists to advise you, whom are at the top of their game and usually surgically trained too. You are paying for their expert, qualified, and indemnified opinion ( in line with Consultant Clinic techniques and protocols, developed over years of practice). The deposit will vary according to the clinic you’re booking into. Thus far:

 

London, Dublin and Birmingham – as per the website, we charge £60 for each consultation

Greater Manchester and Liverpool - £40 for each consultation

Dubai and Los Angeles - £120 per consultation (simply go through the deposit process twice – 2 x £60). Remember, we are usually flying our UK based doctors to another country for you especially, and it will therefore cost more to fly 12 hours to California, than it will to jump in the car and drive to work down the road, for us all.

 

December – twice usual consultation fee for each clinic

 

We charge double deposits in December as we’re only open for 2 weeks, and the demand for our services is literally off the scale. We’re simply bursting at the seams, and it’s especially important to allow our regulars to be able to book in – as well as those whom are certain they want treatment or/ and a consultation. If you aren’t sure during these busy periods, then we would advise you book in, during off-peak season. It goes without saying that the consultation fees at any cost, are always redeemable against respective treatments if performed on the same day.
The rule of thumb, for deposits – is that if you aren’t sure – or aren’t completely on board with all of this, then it’s best not to book in and think on it some more.

Is it a given, that I will definitely be able to have treatment of my choice on the day?


It is never assumed that a treatment can be had on the day, as there are hundreds of reasons which may prevent treatment, whether it is overfilled lips, medication issues, blood supply, nerve supply, scar tissue to the area, certain allergies, anatomical quirks, immunosuppressants, on-going medical conditions, the herpetic virus, and many more. All of these prevent treatment on the day, and we cannot cover all possibilities prior to this on an exhaustive list- as after all, it takes a qualified, trained aesthetics doctor to fully assess a treatment plan for you, what your options are, if eventually you would like to be left with a

result you’re expecting and wish for. 

 

That being said, we often have to turn people away at consultation, either for a existing medical condition, undisclosed previous information, or the presence of previously poorly placed filler from another practice. These can only be assessed on the day, and although less than ideal, it's a part of the process. 
 
Although it sounds preferable to be able to list all potential obstacles on the pre information pack exhaustively, unfortunately it can't - as a broad brush stroke as is not black and white, and not the correct clinical approach. It is at the entire point of a consultation that full suitability is assessed, it's also why at this stage the medical history and consent form is taken.
However, in our considerable experience, most patients tell us if they are undergoing other treatments, taking other medications, or a potential conflict, and double check prior to booking/treatment if it could be an issue. It is your responsibility to let us know of anything you are currently seeing your GP for, aside for contraceptives.
NB We can inject over the filler work of others, provided it is smooth and in the right place. If not, as we cannot determine and guarantee our results – we would need to dissolve first.

 

What if I suffer from cold sores?

 

We advise asking your GP for acyclovir, to help prevent a break out prior to treatment. We give you them to take after treatment too, to help prevent a trigger. We cannot guarantee against break outs, as every time the skin barrier is breached a patient carrying the herpes virus, it remains a possibility. However, we do find prescription antivirals are remarkably effective.

 

Remember just ask!

 

We do all we can to warn your fairly, and allow you to make an informed choice in line with good medical practice guidelines. We can obviously only do so much in a pack like this, as non medics cannot advise you.

 

If there is something you’re not sure about, we have a fantastic admin team, who will answer you – and if they can’t, will refer to a manager or doctor. On occasion, and if necessary – our doctors will contact you themselves to ensure you have the best experience possible.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - TERMS & CONDITIONS

Deposits As you're very likely aware, we are incredibly busy as a clinic group. We know a lot of clinics “say” this, but hand on heart, we are genuinely at capacity (and you'll know this if you've tried to book in!). It's actually a little cray. We've been fully booked for every clinic we have run, for the best part of a decade now (long may it continue), regardless of location! Which frustratingly, means that there is often a short wait to get in. We have 100K patients and only 10 doctors because we’re really fussy whom we have working for us. If you're not serious about the appointment for a consultation, allow another patient to have the slot they crave and indeed the deposit helps with this process. If patients aren't sure whether they will actually attend or what they want, they tend not to pay the deposit and book in. This makes it easier for those whom are serious about it, to find a slot appropriate to their time scale. Which makes for a smoother service for everyone. Let's Talk Deposits. First of all, why do we take them? You'll also be aware, that we work from high end buildings and locations. It's part of the reason patients like visiting us! Harley Street in London, Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles are just 3 of our clinic locations. These places are of course, expensive to use and often cost us £5k a day. Alas, we still need to pay for the rent or mortgage, as well as the salaries of our staff and doctors, whether you attend or not. The deposit merely covers this and the cost of being open, and we make no profit from this at all. It allows us to practice from the beautiful locations we do, and add to the experience of the clinic itself. The alternative would be not to charge for a consultation fee and deposit, but INSTEAD add a third on to the price of each treatment. It may also mean practicing from less desirable areas. Focus groups we have run and used to audit in order to further the clinic’s experience, would indicate that this is a last resort. As a practice, we decided this wasn't entirely fair and that each patient should take responsibility for their turning up on time and risk deposit loss, rather than the entire patient base bearing the brunt of this. We appreciate that it might not be your fault that you cannot attend; you've lost your job, you don’t feel well, you've found out you're pregnant, your car has broken down, or you've just plain changed your mind. No one pays a deposit and expects that they aren't going to attend, which we understand. BUT, that is the whole concept of the “deposit taking” process, in case of such eventualities. If they are refundable, there is little point in them being taken in the first place. However, regardless of this, these non attendances incur business costs that potentially spiral into tens of thousands of pounds, when you have a large international patient base of over 100,000, high international travel costs and of course the thousands of medical professional hours. We have also usually had to use several of our lovely admin staff to book you in too, answer several questions and send you information packs (such as this one!, before you even arrive at the clinic) and behind the scenes. The deposit will cover this too. Is The Deposit Refundable If I Want To Change Or Cancel My Consultation? No - the deposit is STRICTLY NON REFUNDABLE - BUT if you give us 2 weeks notice prior to your attendance, and the appointment slot is moved to within 2 weeks of the original slot, we will transfer to another date convenient to you if diary space allows. If we don’t have the diary space, then the appointment will not be able to be moved. This deposit will be applied toward your surgery as long as surgery is carried out within 3 months of your consultation. Bear in mind, that for whatever reason, no one ever foresees the reason why they can no longer come and again in the interests of fairness, we have to have the same rule for everyone without exception. We warn everyone at the time of booking that the deposit is non-refundable and thus whilst disappointing of course, it is fair and ethical. You take on the responsibility of ensuring your attendance or unfortunately be advised that the deposit will be lost, regardless of the reason behind it. What If I Am Late? We understand that sometimes, public transport is horrid. Cars do crazy things. We break a heel off our shoe, or the baby vomits on us just as we’re handing them over to the babysitter. We do expect you to leave time for all eventualities though, and again take responsibility for being on time. If you are more than 10 minutes late, we reserve the right to cancel the appointment with a non-refundable deposit. Let us explain the reasons for this. We are blessed enough to have patients fly from all over the world to come to see us, and often they have flights to catch after their appointment and connecting travel schedules that aren’t flexible. Parents have to leave to pick up their children, or others have meetings booked later on in the day. Being late yourself, often makes them late – and we obviously cannot allow a knock-on effect of several latecomers (meaning that those patients that turned up on time are inconvenienced through no fault of their own). Furthermore, many of the buildings we work from have licensing hours, which means that if everyone is a little later (or one person is significantly late), the last few attending patients won’t be able to be seen and/or we will be fined for out of hours working. As such, if you are ten minutes late for an appointment, there will be a surcharge of £110 and we reserve the right to cancel your appointment altogether, unless we have a last minute cancellation in a different slot, in which case we’re happy to fit you in later on. Is The Consultation Free? No. The deposit is actually for your consultation fee.. You are paying for the expert, qualified and indemnified opinion of our surgeons. The deposit for booking a surgical procedure consultation in London is £110 and can be made from our website: https://www.consultantclinic.com/pay-yourdeposit December Deposits. We charge high deposit rates in December as we’re only open for 2 weeks, and the demand for our services is literally off the scale. (Please bear this in mind and book early if you want to secure a slot). We’re simply bursting at the seams, and it’s especially important to allow our regulars to be able to book in, as well as those whom are certain they want treatment and/or a consultation. If you aren’t sure during these busy periods, then we would advise you book in during off-peak season. It goes without saying that the consultation fees at any cost are always redeemable against respective treatments if performed within 3 months of your consultation. The rule of thumb for deposits, is that if you aren’t sure, or aren’t completely on board with all of this that you are reading, then it’s best not to book in and think on it some more. No one ever lost anything, by taking more time to make a decision. We’re not going anywhere and would far rather you made the right decision, than a rushed one. Is It A Given That I Will Be Able To Have Treatment Of My Choice On The Day Of My Appointment? For our surgical procedures we do require a two week “cooling off” period after your consultation for you to think on the information and your candidacy for treatment. You will be contacted after that time for assistance in booking in for the actual procedure. That being said, we sometimes have to turn people away at the initial consultation, either for an existing medical condition or other undisclosed information. This can only be assessed on the day, and although less than ideal, it's a part of the process. Although it sounds preferable to be able to list all potential obstacles on our surgical information packs exhaustively, unfortunately we can’t, as a broad brush stroke as is not black and white, and not the correct clinical approach. It is at the entire point of a consultation that full suitability is assessed. It’s also why at this stage, the medical history and consent form is taken. If we feel you are heavily grieving, knee-jerking into a treatment, or have body dysmorphic tendencies we have a duty of care not to treat you. However, in our considerable experience, most patients tell us if they are undergoing other treatments, pregnant or nursing, under the age of 18, have existing medical conditions, taking other medications or other potential conflict and double check prior to booking a consultation in the first place if it could be an issue. It is your responsibility to let us know of anything you are currently seeing your GP for, aside from contraceptives. What If I Am Getting Married Or Am Planning To Attend A Major Event? Side effects with all procedures will include significant swelling, redness and tenderness in the treated area for up to 30 days. Full recovery can take as long as 6 - 10 weeks. Some people will experience significant bruising, but this and any other side effects will usually resolve within a 2 week period of time. You may need to take over the counter painkillers to control any pain-related side effects. For these reasons, CC Surgical will not treat you with any surgical procedure within 3 months of any major personal event in your life such as weddings. A Word Of Caution For Traveling Clients: We will not be liable for anyone’s travel expenses in the event that you are unable to be seen on time or if you are unable to receive treatment or if in the rare event we must cancel a previously booked clinic date. We suggest that you allow enough time in all of your travel plans to accommodate the eventuality that our clinics at times can run late. We recommend travel insurance for the rare eventuality that a clinic may be cancelled after you have booked in. While we do our best to work with our clients and accommodate them in all circumstances we will not reimburse you for any monetary loss incurred regarding travel arrangements. In a similar fashion, the same applies to missed work that you have scheduled in order to attend. Will I Be Able To Be Treated By The Surgeon Of My Choice? You are welcome to contact us by email and we will provide you with the schedule for the doctor you would like to see. This will help you choose correctly what dates to book online. At present, only our Surgeon Oliver is performing CC surgical procedures. Please take note: While it is rare, our surgeon’s schedule may change and we will not always be able to alert you that you are not scheduled with the surgeon you intended to see. If you decide at your appointment that you do not want to be treated by the surgeon who is scheduled, you will not be refunded or compensated for your booking deposit. All of our surgeons are masters at every procedure we offer and can perform treatments equally. When, in the very rare event a clinic must be cancelled, you will always receive notification and extended the opportunity to re-book your appointment. Review & Follow Up Appointments. We will want to see you between 7-10 days after treatment for the removal and/or check up on stitches. We will also need to see you between 6 - 10 weeks for a Surgeon’s review. There are occasions after treatment when patients are concerned with the recovery process and the symptoms of healing they go through or are not satisfied with the outcome of their treatment. If this is the case for you, please email us so that we can assist you by offering some reassurances and some direction setting up a review appointment with the doctor if necessary. Review appointments do not require a booking deposit and are an opportunity for the doctor to physically examine, assess and advise on a path forward. At the surgeon’s discretion further treatment may be necessary and there may be additional charges for any treatment necessary for adjustments needed after the recovery process from the original sitting has completed. Remember Just Ask! We do all we can to warn you fairly and allow you to make an informed choice in line with good medical practice guidelines. We can obviously only do so much, in a pack like this.