I reserve the right to update the above Terms and Conditions at any time. If material changes to the Terms takes place, I will notify parents/carers of child. It is the parent/ carers responsibility to inform me of any changes to contact details. Modifications to the Terms and Conditions will be effective from the day they are emailed to parents/carers, unless stated otherwise. 30 days notice will be given to any changes to Terms and Conditions which directly affect fees or costs. Your continued use of my service after changes to Terms and Conditions become effective, and have been communicated to you via the email or postal address you have provided, means that you accept these changes.
Fees
- Assessment fee is £240 and includes Case History interview, 2 Assessment sessions and a report.
- Therapy sessions are charged at £70 per session. A session is 45-60 minutes.
- Mileage is charged from the Therapist’s home to the appointment address and return 50p per mile
- Travel time deemed over 30 minutes to or from the appointment according to the AA Route Planner, will be charged at £25 per hour plus mileage.
- Written reports are charged at £70 per hour or part thereof.
- Meetings and attendance at annual reviews are charged at £70 per hour or part thereof.
- The initial telephone conversation is free of charge. Thereafter telephone consultations are charged at £10 per 15 minutes or part thereof.
- Fees for training will be based on time to prepare and deliver the training.
- The right is reserved to amend these fees. A minimum of 30 days notice will be given before any changes are implemented.
Reports and Programmes
- Reports and programmes will be supplied to you on request.
- Unless expressly included in the session fee or otherwise agreed, an additional fee calculated on the hourly rate quoted in Section 3 will be charged for writing reports and/or programmes.
- Reports and/or programmes can be shared by you with other professionals as you choose.
- Reports and programmes will be sent to you via post or email as you prefer.
Payment for Services
- Assessments will be invoiced prior to the report being released.
- Regular Therapy will be invoiced on a monthly basis.
- Payment must be made within the time specified on the invoice.
- Late payments will be subject to a late fee of £10.
- Where payment is being covered by private health insurance, the payment remains the ultimate responsibility of the Client.
- In the event of non-payment, the following process will apply
- You will be contacted to remind you that payment is overdue on day 3 and day 7.
- Thereafter, you will receive notification that therapy is suspended pending full payment.
- If payment is not paid within 7 days of therapy being suspended, the Therapist reserves the right to refer the matter to a solicitor and commence legal action.
Cancellation and Termination
Cancellation by Client: 24 hours notice must be given to prevent the agreed fee being charged. It is the bill payers’ responsibility to advise the therapist of any cancellations, even when the child is being seen in an educational setting. If the client cancels an appointment on the day of the appointment, then the bill-payer will be invoiced for half the session rate.
Cancellation by therapist: In the event that it is necessary to cancel an appointment, as much notice as possible will be given and no fee will be incurred.
Non attendance: If the client fails to attend the appointment and does not attempt to cancel, then they will be invoiced for the full session rate.
The following constitute failure to attend an appointment:
- The therapist attends the client’s home for an appointment, but the client is not at home.
- The therapist attends the child’s school or nursery but they are absent and the therapist was not informed by the bill-payer.
Termination of therapy: A full school terms’ notice must be given by parents / carers/ bill payer if they wish to terminate therapy sessions
Change of Frequency of sessions / Discharge from care
Frequency of sessions will be agreed verbally by the therapist and parent and school. Any changes to this frequency will be discussed by the parties and agreed before being implemented. This includes discharge from care where therapy is no longer beneficial to the child.
Liaison And Sharing Information
It is important that liaison with other professionals involved with your child is carried out. Permission will be sought to keep other relevant professionals informed.
As Speech and Language Therapists, our professional standards require good liaison and it is good practice, where both an independent and an NHS therapist are involved, for them to work together collaboratively to maximise opportunities for effective therapy to take place. This is also true where there are other professionals involved.
All clients are eligible for referral to speech and language therapy within their local NHS trust. It is the responsibility of the client to inform the independent therapist if they are receiving, or on a waiting list for NHS therapy, and to inform the NHS therapist of any independent therapist involvement.
Confidentiality and data protection
I am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a Data Protection Officer. All client details, case notes and correspondence will be stored securely and treated confidentially according to the Data Protection Act.
Complaints
In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with the service you have received please contact the Therapist in the first instance. She will make every attempt to resolve the situation through discussion.
If it is not possible to resolve matters, please contact the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP) at www.helpwithtalking.com You may also contact the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC) at www.hcpc-org