The Apothecary Box Patient Agreement

1. Definitions
1.1 ‘The Client’ means the person who agrees to buy the service from The Therapist.
1.2 ‘The Therapist’ means Nicholas Edwards, providing the services of a herbalist from his home address via online video link, or at another premises of a pre-agreed location.
1.3 ‘The Service’ means the provision by The Therapist to the Client of the services agreed between the Therapist and the Client.
1.4 ‘The Consultation’ means the period during which the Client and the Therapist meet to discuss the needs of the Client.
2. Prices
2.1 The price is exclusive of VAT and will be provided before the Client agrees to pay. All prices can be found on the website: https://www.theapothecarybox.co.uk/
3. Payment
3.1 Payment shall be due immediately after a Consultation. If payment is not received, the Therapist may terminate this agreement.
4. Appointments
4.1 Appointments may be rescheduled entirely at the discretion of the Therapist.
4.2 Appointments may be rescheduled up to an hour before the pre-agreed start time without prejudice and postponed to another time.
4.3 The Client agrees that any deposits paid for appointments that are cancelled or rescheduled later than an hour before the scheduled start time will not be refunded.
4.4 Appointments will last for the pre-arranged time. Consultation times are also available on the website.
5. Limitations of Liability
5.1 The Therapist shall not be liable for any consequential or indirect loss or loss of profit suffered by the Client in relation to the services supplied.
5.2 The Therapist’s total liability to the Client for any default act or omission in connection with this agreement and the provision of services shall be limited to the price paid for the Consultation.
5.3 The Therapist gives no guarantee that the therapy and the provision of the services will result in an improvement to the Client’s mental or physical condition or general well-being, as each individual client reacts in a different manner to therapy and it may be necessary for a client to undergo an extended period of therapy before any improvement may be apparent, if at all.
5.4 The Client is reminded not to come to a face-to-face session if showing symptoms of infectious diseases e.g. coronavirus, or if they have been asked to self-isolate. The Therapist will not hold a session if they are symptomatic or have been asked to self-isolate. Whilst the Therapist has attempted to mitigate the risks of coronavirus transmission the Client accepts that there is a risk of transmission in meeting face to face and the Therapist shall not be held liable for transmission of coronavirus to the Client.
5.5 The Client is informed that if they are showing any signs of a notifiable disease, the Therapist is under an obligation to report this to the relevant health authorities.
6. Telephone / video consultations
6.1 With the prior agreement of both parties some or all of the sessions may take place via the telephone or an online video-conferencing platform. The following section sets out the parameters of this work:
6.2 For telephone consultations, the Therapist will ring the Client at the start of the scheduled session. This will either be from the phone number 07496 249572 or a withheld number. If the Therapist is unable to get through to the Client, they will keep trying for the first 5 minutes. At this point, the Therapist will text the Client in order to attempt to resolve the connection issue.
6.3 For video conferencing, the Therapist will send the Client an invite prior to the session. The particular video conference medium will be agreed prior to the first meeting.
6.4 The client shall be ready 5 to 10 minutes prior to the session, and have sufficient mobile phone signal and battery, and for video counselling should be logged in with video and microphone switched on. The client is advised to join the meeting at the agreed session time.
6.5 The Client shall ensure they will not be disturbed for the duration of the session and that they are in a quiet location.
6.6 The Client is asked to have a glass of water and box of tissues nearby, to ensure that they do not need to move rooms during the session.
6.7 In video conferencing, the Client is asked to ensure they are not sat with a window behind them, that the room is sufficiently lit, and that their mobile phone is on silent.
6.8 The Client is asked not to record the sessions and not to let anyone else listen to the session (via phone or any other technical device or in person) without prior agreement from the Therapist. The therapist shall not be recording the sessions.
6.9 The Therapist is unable to extend late sessions past the end of the agreed endpoint as they may have other client appointments. If there is a large delay in starting the session (more than 10 minutes), or a cut-off for a significant part of the session the Therapist and the Client will discuss and agree how to proceed together.
7. Warranties and data protection
7.1 The Therapist warrants to keep all information provided by the Client confidential save for clinical supervision and where the Therapist is required by law {or a strong moral obligation} to disclose some material facts and information to a third party. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, the immediate risk of substantial harm to the client or others, terrorism, safeguarding risks, reporting of serious crime and acts in the public interest, such as reporting to NHS test and trace.
7.2 Records shall be securely stored for up to 7 years post the completion of therapy. At this point, they will be securely destroyed. In the case of minors, this until the patient reachers the age of 25.
8. Complaints
8.1 The Therapist is governed by the ethical and professional guidelines of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH).
8.2 At the first instance, the Client is asked to address their complaint to the Therapist, who will endeavour to satisfy the Client.
8.3 If the client is not satisfied, they are invited to submit a complaint as per the Complaints Procedure for NIMH, set out here: https://nimh.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Complaints-and-disciplinary-National-Institute-of-Medical-Herbalists-V1.2.pdf
9. Termination
9.1 The Therapist may terminate this agreement at any time by giving written notice to the client. The Therapist needs give no reason for termination.
9.2 The Client may terminate this agreement at any time by giving written notice to the Therapist.
9.3 Upon termination, all outstanding fees shall become immediately due and payable.
10. Previous Contracts
10.1 This contract supersedes any previous counselling contracts between The Client and The Therapist.
Name of Client:
Signed: Date:
Name of Therapist: Nichlas Edwards
Signed: Date: