Private consultations and clinical services

1. Introduction

These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) apply to all private consultations and clinical services provided by St. Mary’s Pharmacy (“we”, “us”, or “our”) to any person booking or receiving such a service (“you” or “the patient”). By booking or attending a private consultation, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms. Your booking confirmation and the service-specific information given to you also form part of the agreement.

2. Nature of the Service

• Private consultations are not NHS services and are provided on a self-funded basis unless we expressly tell you otherwise.
• You are paying for the clinician’s professional time, assessment, and advice, not for a guaranteed outcome, diagnosis, or prescription.
• Prescriptions, investigations, or treatments are provided only if clinically appropriate at the clinician’s professional discretion.
• We may decline, pause, or stop a service where it is not clinically appropriate, safe, or lawful to proceed. We will explain the reason where appropriate and discuss next steps.

3. Consultation Fees and Payment

• All consultation fees are payable in advance or at the time of booking unless otherwise agreed in writing.
• The consultation fee covers the clinician’s time for assessment, documentation, and professional advice.
• Fees are non-refundable once a consultation has taken place, regardless of whether medication, treatment, or referral is provided, subject to your statutory rights and any remedy available if the service has not been provided with reasonable care and skill.
• We will explain the consultation fee and any additional charges for products, medicines, vaccines, tests, procedures, or follow-up before you agree to the relevant service.
• No separate fixed booking payment applies unless expressly stated in your booking confirmation. Any advance payment will be explained and recorded against the service booked.
• If you cancel or fail to attend a booked appointment with less than 24 hours’ notice, the fee will remain payable in full, subject to applicable law and the provisions of these Terms.

4. Cancellations and Refunds

• You may cancel or reschedule your appointment at least 24 hours in advance without penalty.
• Cancellations received within 24 hours of the appointment time, or failure to attend, will not normally be eligible for a refund or credit, subject to applicable statutory rights and the circumstances of the cancellation.
• Refunds will not normally be issued after a consultation has taken place because the service provided includes the clinician’s time and professional assessment. This does not affect any statutory remedy available to you.
• If we must cancel or reschedule your appointment due to unforeseen circumstances, we will offer an alternative time or a full refund if no suitable alternative can be arranged.
• If you are late, we will consider whether there is enough time to provide the service safely. We may offer a shorter appointment if appropriate and agreed, or arrange another appointment. Any charge will be considered fairly in light of the service delivered and the circumstances.
• Please contact us as soon as possible if illness, an emergency, or another exceptional circumstance affects your appointment. We may consider the circumstances when applying the cancellation policy.

5. Clinical Outcomes and Liability

• Clinical outcomes cannot be guaranteed. Every patient responds differently to assessment, investigation, or treatment.
• We do not accept liability merely because there is no improvement, a treatment does not produce the expected result, or another healthcare professional expresses a different clinical opinion.
• We will provide services with reasonable care and skill and honour information about the service that is legally binding.
• Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot legally be excluded.
• Any adverse reaction or concern following treatment should be reported promptly to the clinician. Where applicable, suspected adverse reactions to medicines or vaccines may also be reported through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.

6. Patient Responsibilities

You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete medical information during your consultation, including information about existing conditions, medicines, allergies, and previous reactions.
• Inform the clinician of any changes in your health, medication, or allergies before treatment.
• Ask questions if you do not understand the proposed service, its risks, its price, or the aftercare advice.
• Follow clinical advice and aftercare instructions carefully and attend agreed monitoring or follow-up appointments where needed for safe care.
• Seek emergency care via 999 or NHS 111 if your condition deteriorates or you need urgent medical assistance.

Failure to disclose relevant medical information may affect whether treatment can safely be provided. This does not remove any legal responsibility we may have.

7. Confidentiality and Data Protection

• Your personal information will be processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and other applicable data-protection law.
• Clinical notes and records are confidential and stored securely.
• Information may be shared with other healthcare professionals where necessary for your care, where you have agreed, where legally permitted or required, or where there is another lawful basis to do so.
• Consent to treatment is separate from the legal basis for processing personal information. Accepting these Terms does not amount to blanket consent for marketing or other optional uses of your information.
• Further information about how we use personal information is available in our privacy notice. Contact contact@stmarys-pharmacy.co.uk if you need help locating it.

8. Complaints

We aim to deliver high-quality private care. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your consultation or service, please contact us at contact@stmarys-pharmacy.co.uk. We will review your concerns in line with our complaints procedure. You may ask us for a copy of our Complaints Policy.

9. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from these Terms shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. This clause does not remove any consumer rights you may have to bring proceedings in another court where the law permits.

10. Acceptance

By proceeding with a booking or attending your appointment, you confirm that you have had an opportunity to read these Terms; understand the agreed consultation fee and any additional charges disclosed before you agree to them; understand that no prescription, medicine, treatment, or particular clinical outcome is guaranteed; and understand that clinical consent will be obtained separately where required and that you may refuse or withdraw consent to treatment at any time.

11. Bookings Made Online, by Telephone or Away from the Pharmacy

• Where a service contract qualifies as a distance or off-premises contract under applicable consumer law, you may have a statutory cancellation period, normally 14 days from the day the contract is made. Whether this right applies depends on the contract and service.
• Where required, we will provide statutory cancellation information and explain how to cancel. A clear statement by email or another permitted method may be sufficient; you do not have to use a particular form.
• If you ask us to begin a service during a statutory cancellation period, we may ask you to make that request expressly. Any lawful charge for service already performed will be assessed under the applicable rules.
• Nothing in the 24-hour cancellation policy is intended to remove or reduce any statutory cancellation right or other consumer right that applies.

12. Clinical Assessment, Consent and Prescribing

• Before an examination or treatment, the clinician will explain its purpose, relevant risks, likely benefits, alternatives, uncertainties, and costs in a way you can understand.
• Payment or acceptance of these Terms is not clinical consent. You may refuse an examination, medicine, test, photograph, or procedure, or withdraw consent at any time.
• A prescription is issued only where lawful and clinically appropriate. A consultation or previous prescription does not guarantee that a medicine will be prescribed or supplied.
• We may recommend that you contact your GP, another healthcare professional, or an urgent-care service if this is necessary for safe care.
• Where monitoring, test results, or follow-up are needed, the arrangements and any additional charges will be explained where relevant.

13. Service-Specific Arrangements

13.1 Travel health and vaccinations

Travel health advice depends on your destination, itinerary, medical history, vaccination history, and the time available before travel. We will explain recommended vaccines, courses, dose charges, and relevant limitations. We cannot guarantee that a vaccine will be clinically suitable for every patient or that a vaccination certificate will be accepted by every destination or authority.

13.2 Ear care and earwax removal

An assessment may show that earwax removal is unnecessary, unsafe, or not possible in full. We will explain our findings and options. Removal may be incomplete or may need to be stopped if pain, inflammation, narrowing of the ear canal, or another clinical concern makes it unsafe to continue. Any review or revisit arrangement and related fee will be explained to you.

13.3 Cryotherapy and skin services

Suitability for cryotherapy or another skin service depends on clinical assessment. We will explain the proposed procedure, relevant risks, expected healing or aftercare, and limitations before proceeding. Results vary and further assessment or referral may be recommended.

13.4 Blood tests and laboratory services

Where a blood test or laboratory service is booked, we will explain the test or service included, its price, and any follow-up arrangements included in the booking. Some results may require interpretation, repeat testing, or referral, which may involve separate arrangements or charges. We will explain these where relevant.

13.5 Weight management, insomnia and other private services

Where offered, weight-management, insomnia, or another private service is subject to assessment and clinical eligibility. A booking does not guarantee a particular medicine, diagnosis, treatment, or outcome. Any ongoing review, testing, prescription, or treatment charges will be explained before you agree to them.

13.6 Packages and courses

If a service is sold as a package or course, the booking information will identify the included consultations, treatments, products, reviews, duration, and price. Any cancellation or refund will take account of services already supplied, applicable law, and any fair, properly justified loss. A package does not automatically renew unless this has been separately and clearly agreed.

14. Medicines, Vaccines, Product Preparation and Returns

• Medicines, vaccines, and other products are supplied only through lawful arrangements and with the necessary clinical authorisation.
• Before any patient-specific product is ordered or irreversibly prepared, we will explain any separate product charge and, where relevant, the circumstances in which the product may become unusable if you withdraw after preparation.
• We will not administer a vaccine, medicine, or treatment without valid clinical consent. You may withdraw consent even if preparation has begun.
• If a vaccine or medicine has been opened or prepared specifically for you, cannot safely and lawfully be used for another patient, and you then decide not to proceed, any amount sought for the product must be lawful, properly disclosed where required, and based on a fair and justified loss. We will not automatically charge for sealed stock that remains usable.
• We will not charge you for product wastage caused by our own error, inappropriate early preparation, handling or storage error, or another failure on our part.
• Medicines returned after leaving our control ordinarily cannot be returned to stock for another patient because storage and integrity cannot be assured. This does not remove statutory remedies for a faulty, incorrect, or misdescribed product or any applicable cancellation right.
• We will explain relevant product charges and return restrictions before purchase or treatment.

15. Aftercare and Urgent Concerns

• Please follow the aftercare instructions provided and contact us promptly if you experience a concern or side effect related to the service.
• We will explain the appropriate contact route for service-related aftercare and any limits on its availability.
• St. Mary’s Pharmacy is not an emergency service. For urgent or emergency symptoms, use the appropriate NHS urgent or emergency service rather than waiting for a reply to an email or appointment request.
• Your aftercare responsibilities do not remove our own clinical or legal obligations.

16. Statutory Rights, Refunds and Service Standards

We aim to provide services with reasonable care and skill and products that meet applicable legal requirements. These Terms do not exclude rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded. Depending on the circumstances, the law may provide a right to repeat performance, an appropriate price reduction, a refund, or another remedy. If you believe a service or product has not met the required standard, please contact us promptly so that we can review the matter.

Cancellation charges and any amount retained from an advance payment remain subject to applicable law. We will not treat a charge as a penalty or retain amounts where doing so would be unlawful.

17. Pharmacy and Professional Registration

• Pharmacy GPhC registration number: 1038376
• Pharmacist GPhC registration number: 2051980
• Consultations and prescriptions are carried out by GPhC UK Registered Pharmacist Prescribers, where clinically appropriate and within the professional’s scope of practice.

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Last updated: 28-10-2026