Our Policies

Terms and conditions

These Terms and Conditions apply to the mental health services provided by Ark Clinics. Ark Clinics operates under the registered company Medical British Academy. By using our services, you agree to the terms outlined in this document. If you do not agree, please do not use our services.

We may update these Terms and Conditions from time to time. Any changes will take effect when published on our website.

If you have any questions, please contact us at info@medicalbritishacademy.co.uk.

  1. Outpatient consultations are conducted at Ark Clinics, Werneth Grange, Grange Avenue, Oldham, or remotely via video consultations on Microsoft Teams. Medical British Academy does not provide inpatient care, emergency services, or crisis intervention.
  2. Payments: The fees for initial consultations and follow-up appointments must be paid no later than the week before the scheduled appointment. Payments can be made via debit or credit card over the phone with the Ark Clinics administration team or online. Initial consultation fees are required at the time of booking. The fees include a clinic assessment letter to your GP, a private prescription (if necessary), and any additional requests or referrals for investigations such as blood tests or scans. While NHS GPs and other NHS services typically accommodate these requests, their acceptance is at their discretion. If an NHS provider declines, you may need to arrange and fund the investigations privately.
  3. Cancellation Policy: Appointments cancelled more than 7 days in advance will not incur any charges. Cancellations made between 7 and 3 days before the scheduled appointment will be subject to a 50% cancellation fee. Cancellations made less than 3 days before the appointment will be charged the full fee. If the patient does not attend their appointment, it will be classified as a "Did Not Attend" (DNA). In such cases, the assessment cannot proceed, but the full fee will still be charged.
  4. Patients are permitted to reschedule their appointment once without charge, provided that the request is made between 7 and 3 days prior to the scheduled appointment time.
    Any request to reschedule within less than 3 days' notice will be subject to the standard cancellation policy.
    If a patient wishes to reschedule more than once, regardless of the notice period, the cancellation policy will also apply, and the patient will be required to book a new appointment at the applicable rate.
  5. Chaperones: Patients are welcome to have a relative, friend, or carer accompany them during their consultation. While having a chaperone is not mandatory, arranging one is the patient’s or carer’s responsibility. If a patient requires a chaperone but is unable to bring a companion, they must inform the Medical Secretary in advance to discuss possible arrangements. Please note that an administrator will always be present at reception during the assessment.
  6. Patients under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or a nominated carer during their consultation.
  7. With your consent, the initial and follow-up clinic assessment letters will be sent to your GP or referring healthcare provider. You will also receive a copy of the letter, which will be sent to you either by email or post. Please be aware that the letter may contain information that could be uncomfortable to read.
  8. Medical British Academy adheres to NICE guidelines and may recommend additional investigations, psychotherapy, or other appropriate interventions if a patient's symptoms persist over time.
  9. In accordance with General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines, it is a doctor's duty to inquire about and report any safeguarding concerns. In certain circumstances, the Medical British Academy may be obliged to contact relevant third parties, such as the local Safeguarding Board or Social Services. While this is a rare occurrence, we will always discuss it with you beforehand.
  10. Although this assessment is conducted privately, the standard of care and quality of the assessment provided by the Medical British Academy will be consistent with the professional standards expected of NHS employees.
  11. Chronic and Enduring Psychiatric Conditions: In some cases, it may be more suitable for patients with chronic or enduring psychiatric conditions to receive treatment and support from their NHS Community Mental Health Team or another qualified mental health professional (e.g., psychotherapist or counsellor).
  12. If you have any concerns or complaints regarding your consultation, we encourage you to first discuss them with the Medical British Academy Practice Manager. You may also contact your GP for advice or directly reach out to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The Practice Manager at Medical British Academy can be contacted by phone from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday, at +44 7858 690615, or by email at any time at info@medicalbritishacademy.co.uk.
  13. In the event of a psychiatric emergency, such as feeling suicidal, considering harm to yourself or others, or being at risk from others, you should immediately contact your GP, the GP Out of Hours Service, or dial 111. Alternatively, you may go directly to any A&E Department or contact the NHS Mental Health Crisis Team in your area. For residents of Greater Manchester, the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust's 24/7 crisis helpline is available every day of the year on 0800 953 0285.
Patient consent

Consent to assessment and treatment at Medical British Academy, I understand that upon signing this document I have received and read Medical British Academy Terms and Conditions provided to me and I agree with the following:

  1. I understand that staff at Medical British Academy will take all necessary steps to protect my privacy and information.
  2. I understand that Medical British Academy may need to review, use and disclose information about me, my medical/psychiatric diagnosis and treatment to other professionals or care providers. I give permission for Medical British Academy to share information with my GP, the NHS and / or other Specialists, as required.
  3. I give permission for my GP to share information with Medical British Academy, both mental health and physical, as required.
  4. To the best of my knowledge, my physical and mental health history and status, has been accurately and fully disclosed to Medical British Academy.
  5. It is my responsibility to inform Medical British Academy of any changes in my medical status, psychiatric/mental health status and social status. I understand that Medical British Academy will perform a full assessment and may request other investigations, as required. I agree to the treatment plan and will follow the recommended treatment plan, as discussed with Medical British Academy. I am aware that this may carry a risk of side-effects, withdrawal symptoms and possible other complications, if I do not comply with, or adhere to instructions and/or if I exceed the recommended prescribed dosages of medication.
  6. I understand that it is at my discretion to stop treatment or investigations, however, if I decide to do so, I understand that this may carry serious risk of side-effects, withdrawal symptoms and/or other complications.
  7. I understand that if I decide to stop treatment or the assessment process, I will be solely responsible for any further side-effects or risks due to premature discharge against medical advice.
  8. I understand that Medical British Academy are offering an Outpatient Consultation Service only, and are unable to treat patients in crisis, emergency or high-risk situations within, or outside working hours. If my mental health condition deteriorates, and I believe I am in an emergency or crisis situation, e.g., having suicidal thoughts, considering harm to myself, others, or to property, or if I am at risk from others, I will inform my relative/carer and contact your local NHS Crisis Team, go to the nearest A&E, or call an Ambulance or Police on 999 or 111 for immediate support.
Payments and cancelation

Payments: The fees for initial consultations and follow-up appointments must be paid no later than the week before the scheduled appointment. Payments can be made via debit or credit card over the phone with the Ark Clinics administration team or online. Initial consultation fees are required at the time of booking. The fees include a clinic assessment letter to your GP, a private prescription (if necessary), and any additional requests or referrals for investigations such as blood tests or scans. While NHS GPs and other NHS services typically accommodate these requests, their acceptance is at their discretion. If an NHS provider declines, you may need to arrange and fund the investigations privately.

  • Cancellation Policy: Appointments cancelled more than 7 days in advance will not incur any charges. Cancellations made between 7 and 3 days before the scheduled appointment will be subject to a 50% cancellation fee. Cancellations made less than 3 days before the appointment will be charged the full fee. If the patient does not attend their appointment, it will be classified as a "Did Not Attend" (DNA). In such cases, the assessment cannot proceed, but the full fee will still be charged.
  • Patients are permitted to reschedule their appointment once without charge, provided that the request is made between 7 and 3 days prior to the scheduled appointment time.
  • Any request to reschedule within less than 3 days' notice will be subject to the standard cancellation policy.
  • If a patient wishes to reschedule more than once, regardless of the notice period, the cancellation policy will also apply, and the patient will be required to book a new appointment at the applicable rate.
Privacy Policy

We are Medical British Academy, a company incorporated in England and Wales. Our company number is 11851928 and our registered address is Werneth Grange, Grange Avenue Oldham, Greater Manchester OL8 4EL. ("Medical British Academy" / "we" / "our" / "us"). We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. We comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR together with any other relevant data protection and privacy legislation (together “Data Protection Legislation”). We are the data controller of data you pass to us pursuant to this policy. Our Privacy Officer can be contacted at carrie.young@medicalbritishacademy.co.uk

This Privacy Policy together with our Cookie Policy sets out how we collect personal information from you and how the personal information you provide will be processed by us. By visiting the website at https://www.medicalbritishacademy.co.uk you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not consent, please do not submit any personal data to us.

What information does Medical British Academy hold and how will we use it?

Information you give Medical British Academy: You may give us information about you by completing enquiry forms or booking appointments on the website or by phone, chat or video conference, also, by requesting via the website that we send you marketing information. The information you give us may include your name, email address, Postal address/location, phone number, dates of birth, bank details, diagnosis details, treatment and prescription details and appointment details.

We will retain this information while we are corresponding with you or providing services to you or to the Patient you represent.

Medical British Academy adheres to the Records Management Code of Practice published by NHS England to ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, and ethical obligations, including GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Information about the records management code of practice can be found by following this link: https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/records-management-code/

Information Medical British Academy collects about you:

Medical British Academy may collect the following information from you when you visit the website:

  • Technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login information, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform; and
  • Information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL), clickstream to, through and from the website (including date and time), products you viewed or searched for, page response times, website errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information, methods used to browse away from the page and any phone number used to call our helpline
Cookies

The website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of the website. For detailed information on the cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them, please see our Cookie Policy.

Use Made of the Information

We may use the information we receive and/or collect about you via the website to:

  • Fulfil our obligations under any contract that we have entered with you or with the Patient that you represent, and to provide you or the relevant Patient with information or services that you or the Patient has requested
  • Send you newsletters and marketing information if you have consented to us doing so
  • Notify you of products and services that we feel may interest you, or permit third parties to do so if you have provided the appropriate consent
  • Monitor website usage and provide statistics to third parties for the purposes of improving and developing the website and the services we provide via the website

Medical British Academy processes personal information for certain legitimate business purposes, which include some or all the following:

  • Where the processing enables Medical British Academy to enhance, modify, personalise or otherwise improve the website, its services or communications
  • To identify and prevent fraud
  • To enhance the security of the network and information systems of Medical British Academy
  • To better understand how people interact with the websites of Medical British Academy
  • To administer the website and carry out data analysis, troubleshooting and testing; and
  • To determine the effectiveness of promotional campaigns and advertising

If we obtain consent from you to do so, we may provide your personal details to third parties so that they can contact you directly in respect of services in which you may be interested.

Where we are processing personal data that we have obtained via the website on the basis of having obtained consent from you, you have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. If you would like to withdraw your consent or prefer not to receive any of the above-mentioned information (or if you only want to receive certain information from us), please let us know by contacting us via email to info@medicalbritishacademy.co.uk. Please bear in mind that if you object, this may affect our ability to carry out the tasks above for your benefit.

If you wish to have your information removed from our database or if you do not want us to contact you for marketing purposes, please let us know by clicking the 'Unsubscribe' option in any email we send to you and providing the details requested or by contacting us via email to info@medicalbritishacademy.co.uk and we will take steps to ensure that this information is deleted as soon as reasonably practicable. We will not share, sell or distribute any of the information you provide to us (other than as set out in this policy) without your prior consent, unless required to do so by law.

Third Party Sites

Our website may contain links to third party websites, including websites via which you are able to purchase products and services. They are provided for your convenience only and we do not check, endorse, approve or agree with such third-party websites nor the products and/or services offered and sold on them. We have no responsibility for the content, product and/or services of the linked websites. Please ensure that you review all terms and conditions of website use and the Privacy Policy of any such third-party websites before use and before you submit any personal data to those websites.

How Safe is your Information?

Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of the website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

Protecting your security and privacy is important to us and we make every effort to secure your information and maintain your confidentiality in accordance with the terms of the data protection legislation. The website is protected by various levels of security technology, which are designed to protect your information from any unauthorised or unlawful access, processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage.

We will do our best to protect your personal data but the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Any such transmission is, therefore, at your own risk.

Disclosure of your Information

We may share your personal information with any member of our group, which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006. We may share your information with selected third parties including:

  • Business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter with them or you
  • Third parties who may wish to contact you in respect of services or products they offer or sell which may be of interest to you, provided we receive your consent to such disclosure, and/or advertisers and advertising networks that require the data to select and serve relevant adverts to you and analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of the website

Please note, we may need to disclose your personal information where we:

  • Sell any or all of our business or assets or we buy another business or assets in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective buyer or seller
  • Are under a legal duty to comply with any legal obligation or to enforce or apply our terms and conditions; or
  • Need to disclose it to protect our rights, property or the safety of our customers or others, including the exchange of information with other companies, organisations and/or governmental bodies for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction
Where we Store your Personal Data

All your personal data is stored within the UK or the EEA.

Your Rights in Respect of your Data

You benefit from a number of rights in respect of the personal data we process about you. We have summarised your rights below and more information is available from the Information Commissioner's Office website. Your rights apply for the period in which we process your data. There are certain caveats and exemptions to those rights which mean that in some circumstances you may not be entitled to exercise them. If we believe that is the case upon receipt of a request from you, we will let you know.

  1. Access to your data
  2. Rectification of your data
  3. Right to be forgotten
  4. Right to restrict processing
  5. Data portability
  6. Right to object
Automated Decision making

Automated decision-making means making a decision solely by automated means without any human involvement. We do not carry out any automated decision making using your personal data.

Your right to complaint about our processing:

If you have any complaints about our use of your personal data, please contact us. You also have the right to complain to the relevant supervisory authority in your jurisdiction. In the UK, the supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner's Office. Contact details for the ICO can be found at https://ico.org.uk/.

If you have any further queries or comments on our Privacy Policy, please contact us by emailing info@medicalbritishacademy.co.uk.