This document sets out the terms and conditions of business under which Skin Beautiful Clinics operates, including, but not limited to deliverance of service, legal and ethical implications for professional aesthetics practice, payments and pricing, administration of prescription only medicines (POM) and client consultations.

Deliverance of service

Appointments

An appointment is defined as a formal booking during which you agree to an informal face-to-face meeting with our medical aesthetics practitioner, either at one of our clinics or other place deemed fit for practicing non surgical, aesthetic medicine. During an appointment clients will have the opportunity to ask questions, discuss treatment options and prices before agreeing to any treatment.

Booking appointments

Appointments can be booked by phone, email, or in person at any one of our clinics. The act of booking an appointment constitutes a contract and agreement between you the client and us Skin Beautiful Clinics under which you will have certain rights to cancel or reschedule your appointment. An appointment does not infer any obligation to either party in respect of treatment. Thus, you are under no obligation to accept treatment as part of an appointment.

In addition to the above, a pre contractual agreement is made between you, the client and Skin Beautiful Clinics at the time of booking your appointment. You agree to an open, no obligation, face to face consultation with a qualified medical aesthetics prescriber. You agree that treatment is not mandatory on completion of consultation, and will only be considered on condition that the consulting practitioner is satisfied with the outcome of the consultation. You agree that the consulting practitioner may postpone, delay, amend or otherwise adjourn any proposed treatment, even after an appointment has been made for such treatment if it is determined that the subject is unsuitable for the procedure. The consulting practitioner’s decision relating to treatment appropriateness and safety is final.

Deposits

All new clients to the clinic are required to pay a non refundable deposit to make an appointment. Appointments will only be booked once the deposit has been received in full. Skin Beautiful Clinics will hold all deposits for a maximum of 28 days from the date of the initial consultation and will deduct the full value of the deposit from any treatment cost within the 28 day period.

Existing clients are not required to pay a deposit to book an appointment unless one or more of the following conditions apply i) the previous appointment was cancelled with less than 72 hours prior notice being given ii) the client failed to attend the appointment iii) the client failed to notify us of a change of circumstances which would prevent them from attending the appointment iv) the client attends the appointment in an unfit state (e.g. under the influence of alcohol or non prescribed drugs).

Deposits may be made by debit card or by electronic bank transfer (BACS payment) to our registered company corporate account. Appointments will only be confirmed once the deposit has been received in full. A deposit received in full is deemed as cleared funds received by the clinic. In the case of BACS transfer payments must be received within 24 hours to confirm your appointment. Beyond 24 hours appointments will be made available to other enquiring clients.

Cancellations and missed appointments

Clients may cancel appointments without any additional charge no later than 3 business days in advance of the appointment date. For example, for a confirmed appointment on a Wednesday notice of cancellation must be received no later than Friday of the week before. Where a deposit has been paid we reserve the right to withhold this in full if a client has: i) cancelled within 3 days of appointment ii) failed to attend an appointment without notifying us in advance, iii) failed to attend an appointment for the second time regardless of whether we have been notified or iv) cancelled and rescheduled on at least two occasions. The reference to ‘without additional charge’ is made without any implication to paid deposits.

All existing clients will be required to pay a deposit for the next booked appointment if (i) the existing booking is cancelled within 3 days of appointment date (ii) the client fails to attend the appointment (iii) the client has cancelled and rescheduled appointments on 2 or more occasions.

Please note: any reference to cancellation charges does not imply that a deposit has been paid. Once paid, deposits are non refundable in all cases. Deposits and cancellation charges are completely independent from one another. For example, a existing client whom has not paid a deposit will remain liable for a cancellation charge if they fail to inform the clinic of non attendance for an appointment without giving 3 business days notice. An exception to this is where a new client has paid a deposit and then fails to attend an appointment without giving sufficient notice. In this instance the deposit will be withheld as a cancellation charge and any further booked appointment will require a further deposit.

A deposit will be forfeited in cases where an appointment has been reserved for more than 28 days and then later cancelled.

We reserve the right to refuse access to our clinics to any person who we consider to be bogus or who has failed to attend an appointment without notifying us.

Consultations

Consultations

A free consultation is provided with every procedure or combination of treatments. For example, if a client takes a treatment to the value of £299 then the total cost including the consultation will also be £299. Where a client has a consultation and then decides not to proceed with treatment the consultation will be charged at £50. In addition to any deposit, cancellation charge or consultation fee the clinic reserves the right to take payments in advance for any prescription items and/or any other items which are ordered specifically in a client’s name.

During consultation the consulting practitioner will make an holistic assessment as to the client’s suitability to treatment which may include physical assessment of the proposed areas of treatment and the recording of personal information, medical history, risk assessment, psychological analysis and product selection. Medical notes will be taken as part of the assessment and will be stored securely for a minimum period of 10 years in accordance with The General Data Protection Regulation UK (2018). A copy of medical notes is available to the client on receipt of a formal written request. On completion of the consultation the practitioner may recommend a course of treatments or therapies.

Treatment

All clients will be required to complete medical history and conditions of treatment questionnaires and undergo a physical examination of the area(s) to be treated before any treatment is offered. Treatment will only be offered where in the practitioners’ professional opinion all of the following conditions have been met: (1) there is clinical evidence of a need for the treatment, (2) the proposed treatment is appropriate and safe for the client, and (3) the treatment including any maintenance, ongoing and continual treatment(s) and/or prescribed/non prescribed products will be affordable for the client. Where treatment is offered the client will be informed of the proposed procedure and then asked to sign an agreement before commencement of any treatment. All treatments must be paid for on the day, in full and by one of our acceptable payment methods.

We take every step possible to ensure your treatment will provide the results you require. However, no drug or medical device can guarantee a 100% success rate across a varied client base or population. Guidelines from drugs manufacturers state explicitly that, in some rare cases their product may not produce a satisfactory result. It is expressly understood that certain extrinsic and biological factors are beyond the control of the clinic and cannot be addressed by medical intervention. Skin Beautiful Clinics will not be held responsible for instances where a drug or medical device product has failed to produce a satisfactory aesthetic result unless it has been independently proven by a suitably qualified expert that the unsatisfactory aesthetic result occurred as a failing in our consultation, prescribing or administration of the product.

In providing treatments we incur costs which are independent of results. By giving consent to treatment it is deemed by Skin Beautiful Clinics that you understand and accept that no refunds will be given.

After treatment care

We offer review appointments to all clients following a treatment with the purpose being to assess progress and to determine any additional treatment requirements. Clients will be given the option to meet with the practitioner to determine whether further treatment is required. All review appointments are provided free of charge. However, any additional product(s) (administered or supplied) will incur additional costs. This will be comprehensively explained to clients during the review process.

Clients are invited to attend review appointments within 28 days post procedure. It is the client’s absolute responsibility to ensure availability for any such review appointments. Where a client fails to attend a review appointment within 28 days of a procedure we reserve the right to refuse any dose adjustments or top up treatments.

Dose adjustments

A dose adjustment may be offered to clients where, in the practitioner’s professional opinion a further dose is required to achieve the desired aesthetic result. All top up treatments are chargeable unless the following criteria apply: 1) the practitioner has product left after the initial treatment (as per prescription or other medical document) which has already been paid for by the client at the initial appointment, and 2) the top up treatment is administered within 14 days of the initial treatment (28 days for some procedures). In case of either of these conditions not being met then any further administered products will require an additional payment.

Payments & pricing

Payment

Payments must be made in full at the time of treatment by one of our acceptable payment methods. For details of our acceptable payment methods please refer to the relevant clinic web page(s). Skin Beautiful Clinics does not offer credit, nor do we accept cheques, part payments, late payments or instalments for treatments. It is the sole responsibility of the client to ensure he/she has sufficient funds to cover the cost of treatment before treatment commences.

All card payments for cards registered outside of the UK/EU/EEA are subject to a processing charge of 3.0% of the total treatment or consultation cost, including, but not limited to any additional products, prescription items and any other take home items.

Pricing

All advertised prices represent the minimum cost per treatment. Treatments are priced according to the exact area, type and complexity of treatment as well as the type and quantity (dose) of product used. Clients requiring additional product will be charged a proportionately higher price for the same treatment. Quotations for treatments must be obtained from our medical aesthetics practitioner during consultation, before any product is opened and before treatment commences. Prices are non negotiable.

A supplementary charge of between £30 – £50 is made per treatment to all gentlemen due to the higher amount of product required to effect the equivalent aesthetics results.

Legal & ethical

Administration of prescription only medicines (POM)

Botulinum toxin type-A (BOTOX®, BoCouture, Xeomin, Azzalure, Dysport), Hyaluronidase (Hyalase), vitamin B12, etc are prescription only medicines (POM). Thus, they can only be administered following a face-to-face consultation with a doctor, dentist or authorised prescriber such as a nurse independent & supplementary prescriber, etc where it is certified that the client is a suitable subject for such a prescription.

Prescribing restrictions for prescription only medicines (POM)

Due to regulations for nurse prescribers all prescription items must be obtained from a pharmacy and only after a face to face consultation has taken place. The implications of such regulations mean that: (a) treatments involving prescription medicines will not be administered immediately following a consultation, but will be offered at a second appointment and only once we have received the prescription in the name of the person(s) to be treated (b) for existing clients we are able to provide treatment from a prescription medicine without a further face to face consultation only if the existing client(s) has been seen by our practitioner during the previous 183 days. For existing clients not seen by our practitioner for more than 183 days it is necessary for a face to face consultation to take place first. Administration of any prescription medicine would then be given in the same way as for a new client.

Injectable treatments for non prescription only medicines such as dermal fillers and other medical devices do not require a face to face consultation with an certified prescriber to take place before the product can be obtained. However, as with all our treatments, administration of any non prescription medicines will only be considered once a face to face consultation with our practitioner has taken place. The implications for the client are that any treatments that do not involve prescription medicines can be offered immediately following an initial face to face consultation, and at the same appointment.

Requirements for both prescription only medicines (POM) and non prescription medicines

In line with regulations and clinical guidelines for the provision of non surgical medical and/or cosmetic treatments we restrict the provision of treatments. It is an absolute requirement of our clinic that all of the following criteria are met wholly before any treatment(s) are provided: (a) the practitioner must be satisfied that there is a proven clinical need for any given treatment(s), (b) the practitioner must be satisfied that any treatment(s) are appropriate, safe and cost effective for the the client, (c) the practitioner must be satisfied that the client has understood the proposed treatment(s) including any associated risks and/or side effects and that the treatment is affordable for the client including the cost of any ongoing treatment and (d) the practitioner must be satisfied that the client has given his/her informed consent to any proposed treatments by way of signature(s) to all appropriate documents.

Legal and ethical implications for professional aesthetics practice

Most clients aged between 18 – 65 can be offered treatment following a consultation. However, there are circumstances where treatment may be refused. Treatment may be refused where, in the opinion of the trained practitioner it is unwise, unsafe, unethical or otherwise advisable to do so. For example, where treatment may interfere with an existing medical condition, other prescription medication or post operative recovery. We regret that we are unable to offer treatment or consultations to any person under the age of 18, even if accompanied by a parent or guardian. It is an absolute requirement that every client attend an open medical consultation with our medical aesthetics practitioner before any treatment can be considered. All treatments are offered subject to satisfactory consultation. The decision of the medical aesthetics practitioner as to treatment appropriateness is final in every case.

Skin Beautiful clinics will not accept abusive or threatening behaviour for any reason, either in clinic or via any other means of communication. Any such behviour will will be reported to the appropriate authorities. In addition to ceasing all treatments and services we reserve the right to permanently exclude from clinic any person(s) that behave inappropriately either in clinic or via any other communication means.

Client responsibilities

All clients seeking any medical and/or cosmetic treatments must understand the importance attached to the answers provided in the consultation questionnaire. Where treatment is offered it is done so on the assumption that the information provided by the client is wholly complete, unambiguous and accurate and not in any way incomplete, untruthful or misleading. It is the absolute sole responsibility of the client to ensure that this criterion is adhered to. Such information includes, but is not limited to: past and/or existing medical conditions or complaints; date of most recent aesthetics treatment; details of side effects, adverse reactions or complications following a previous aesthetics treatment either through our clinic or with any other clinic/practitioner; complete and accurate personal name and address; complete and accurate name and address of general practitioner; whether or not you are pregnant or breastfeeding (where applicable). No liability can be entered into with clients where it is later discovered that information provided at the time of consultation was incomplete, inaccurate, misrepresented or otherwise intentionally withheld.

Limitation of liability

Skin Beautiful Medical & Cosmetic Clinic, it’s personnel and associates assume liability for consulting, prescribing and the supply and/or administration of medicines or medical devices only. The clinic is not liable for any costs however incurred by you, the client or anyone appointed by you for travel or accommodation in connection with any appointment at our clinics or where personal and/or business travel or accommodation has to be cancelled, delayed, postponed, rescheduled or otherwise disrupted due to us cancelling or rescheduling your appointment on the grounds of safety or clinical protocol.

Skin Beautiful Clinics will always endeavour to make appointments at times suitable for clients, and we will act to avoid unnecessary cancellations, deferrals, postponements or other related inconvenience to clients. However, the nature of medicine is such that clinical decisions have to be made based on the evidence we are presented with. At times this may not be obvious until after consulting or possibly just before a scheduled appointment. In the interests of client safety we reserve the right to make clinical decisions to cancel, defer, postpone or otherwise reschedule appointments as necessary and occasionally at very short notice to clients. We will not be held liable for any costs, losses or inconvenience arising from clinical decisions or lateness of appointments due to overrunning of the previous appointment.

Both the contract and any pre contractual agreement precludes any liability to the clinic for circumstances arising which are beyond our control or are unforeseen or unavoidable.

Complaints Procedure

At Skin Beautiful we take all genuine complaints extremely seriously. Any complaints received will be thoroughly investigated in accordance with Care Quality Commission, GMC and NMC guidelines for clinical practice. We will handle any such complaints in an efficient, transparent and professional manner, and will keep clients updated at all times. Please address any complaints to: The Director of Customer Services at the address of the clinic where your treatment was performed. Alternatively, please email your complaint to The Director of Customer Services at info@hm-skinbeautiful.com.

How will my complaint be handled?

Upon receiving a complaint we will open an investigation and will always ask the complainant to attend the clinic in person. It is essential that we meet with every client so that we can analyse the complaint and assess the treatment in question. Following the meeting we will review all treatment records together with the information gathered at the post treatment review. We will not consider complaints where the client refuses to attend a requested appointment, thereby preventing us from verifying the complaint. We will not accept client photographs as evidence in support of any complaint.

Depending on the nature of any complaints then the investigation may require us to communicate some personal information with the patient’s General Practitioner or other appropriate practitioners, our suppliers and/or legal teams. Skin Beautiful Clinics will only ever contact a client’s GP with the prior full consent of the client. Once we have gathered all the necessary information we will contact the complainant with our findings. The complainant will receive a final correspondence by letter or by email from The Clinical Director or Executive Director explaining our findings and conclusions.

We invest time and financial resources to ensure that the safest, most appropriate treatments and advice are given at all times, based on scientific research and best evidence based practice. In some cases information we provide may be misinterpreted, misunderstood or even disregarded. We kindly ask all clients to ensure that they have read and understood the information on the provided after care sheet as well as any additional after care advice given by the practitioner before making a complaint of any kind.

It is widely known throughout the medical aesthetics industry that a small but increasing minority of individuals make bogus complaints to attempt to obtain refunds or free treatments from a practitioner or clinical practice. Reasons may include, but are not limited to: to hold one practitioner responsible for another practitioner’s malpractice; to seek a full or partial refund predetermined by the client before commencement of any treatment or consultation; claims that a treatment has not worked which cannot be verified either independently or by the practitioner; seeking an aesthetics treatment with the purpose of blaming the practitioner for causing an existing injury and/or condition; seeking free top up treatments to prolong the effectiveness of the original paid treatment beyond what is considered a normal, single treatment cycle. Skin Beautiful Clinics will not consider any complaints received from the above or any such similar scenarios, or where we believe a client is attempting to make such a bogus complaint.

We will only consider complaints where it can be independently proven by a suitably qualified expert that we have failed in our consulting, prescribing or administration or supply of the treatment. It is the responsibility of the client to obtain any reports we may request from an independent expert in support of any claim of malpractice and within the timescale we advise. Failure to attend an appointment and/or to obtain the required report within the time given will result in your complaint being closed. Clients are welcome to gain a second opinion from another practitioner. We will consider this as part of any investigation where the practitioner has sufficient and relevant expertise.

Particulars of Business

Skin Beautiful Medical & Cosmetic Clinic is the trading name of Sovereign Clinics Limited. Registered in England & Wales. Registration No. 09243537. Registered Office: 2 Als Street Llanelli Carmarthenshire SA15 1SN.