Terms and Conditions

BERKSHIRE PRIVATE GP

CORE TERMS OF USE (“TERMS”)

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING BERKSHIRE PRIVATE GP SERVICES.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, YOU SHOULD EXIT THE PLATFORM AND CANCEL ANY APPOINTMENT IMMEDIATELY.

These Terms apply to all users (“ you ”) of our website ( https://www.privatedr.uk ), our mobile applications and/or our tablet applications (“ App ”) (together, the “ Platform ”). These Terms apply to you whether you are an NHS, private (self-funded), or third party patient and should be read in conjunction with the additional terms listed below.

By using the Platform, you are agreeing to these Terms, along with the following additional terms, which also apply and shall be incorporated into our Contract with you:

our Privacy and Cookie Policy ;
the additional Terms and Conditions of Service which apply for NHS Patients , Private Patients or Third Party Patients , depending on how you are accessing Berkshire Private GP’s services.

If you are a Private Patient, please also see our costs and charging information detailed on our website.

You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access the Platform through your internet connection are aware of these Terms and other applicable terms and conditions, and that they comply with them.

Any reference to “these Terms” shall include the above additional terms (as applicable)

Capitalised terms shall have the meanings set out in the Definitions section below.

EMERGENCIES

Berkshire Private GP is NOT to be used in an EMERGENCY situation

IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU OR THE PERSON YOU ARE ASSISTING IS IN AN URGENT OR EMERGENCY SITUATION YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY DIAL 999.

YOU SHOULD CALL 999 IMMEDIATELY in a critical or life-threatening situation, such as if someone has:

difficulty breathing;
severe bleeding and it can't be stopped;
severe chest pain;
a severe allergic reaction;
severe burns or scalds;
loss of consciousness;
major trauma such as the result of a serious road traffic accident, a stabbing, a shooting, a fall from height or a serious head injury; or
acute confused states and fits which aren’t stopping,

or if you believe someone is having a heart attack or stroke.

WHO WE ARE AND HOW TO CONTACT US

Berkshire Private GP is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (“ CQC ”) (registration number 1- 23676648835). The CQC is the independent regulator of all health and social care in England. The CQC monitors, inspects and regulates all hospitals, care homes, home-care agencies, GP practices and dental practices.

How to contact us. To contact us, please email info@privatedr.uk or telephone our customer service team on 01784 665255 . For other options, please visit Contact Us .

We may contact you by email to the email address provided in your Account, by written communication to the postal address provided in your Account or by a general notice on the Platform.

OUR SERVICES

What Services do we offer? Berkshire Private GP offers a Platform which enables you to connect online, in real time to Practitioners and access health care services.

Berkshire Private GP Self-Funded Service – you can access a Berkshire Private GP by paying the appropriate fee on the Platform. Each of the Practitioners is registered with their appropriate governing body and is an independent medical professional who is individually responsible for the medical advice that they offer to you via the Platform.
Berkshire Private GP Consult Platform Only – you can use the Platform to access healthcare as directed by a third-party healthcare provider.

Our Platform is available to you if you are in the United Kingdom (i.e. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). We do not represent that any content available on or through the Platform is appropriate for use or available outside the United Kingdom

You can use the Platform in order to:

book an appointment for an online consultation with a Practitioner via the Platform (“Appointment”);
obtain qualified and professional medical advice from the Practitioner and related administrative services including referrals and sick notes; and
if agreed with the Practitioner during the Appointment, and where supported by Berkshire Private GP, you may also obtain prescriptions for certain medication(s), (each a “Berkshire Private GP Service ” or together the “Services”).
consult with a third party Practitioner. (together the “ Services”)

In relation to Berkshire Private GP Services:

Appointments are subject to availability. Appointment times are subject to change and are only made available to you at our sole discretion.

In the event that:

you require medical advice and you are unable to access Berkshire Private GP for whatever reason;
there are no Appointments available to suit your requirements;
you miss an Appointment for whatever reason;
you lose connection to the Platform during an Appointment; or
your Appointment is cancelled, including as a result of a Practitioner being unavailable,

it is your sole responsibility to either book an alternative Appointment with us or seek appropriate alternative medical advice from alternative service providers (e.g. your NHS GP practice if you are registered with one).

Booking an Appointment in advance. You can choose to book an appointment in advance, which we refer to as an “ Appointment” . You can request an Appointment on your chosen date and time (subject to availability) via the Platform.

Confirmation of Appointments . After you have requested an Appointment via the Platform you will be sent written confirmation of the Appointment in the form of an email. If you do not receive such confirmation within twenty four (24) hours of requesting your Appointment (or, in the case of same day Appointments, within four (4) hours of the start of your intended Appointment) please Contact Us to check we have received your booking request.

Your right to make a change to an Appointment once booked. If you wish to make a change to the date or time of your Appointment you should do this via the Platform as soon as possible. We will let you know if the change is possible. If it is possible we will let you know about any changes to the date or time of your Appointment or anything else which would be necessary as a result of your requested change and ask you to confirm whether you wish to go ahead with the change. If we cannot make the change or the consequences of making the change are unacceptable to you, you may want to cancel your Appointment.

Our duty if we make changes to an Appointment once booked. We will advise you by email or phone as soon as possible if we have to amend, change or cancel any Appointment that you have booked.

Same Day Appointments. If you want a consultation as soon as possible on the same day, you will need to check for any availability via the Platform. The waiting time and all other time estimates provided and/or published on the Platform are based on our system’s best estimates having reviewed live activity and usage statistics. You accept that the waiting time and all other time estimates are provided as a guide only and do not guarantee provision of the Services, or that a connection with a Practitioner will be made within certain parameters, within a given time period or at all. You accept that we will not refund fees based on waiting times or any other time estimates being inaccurate.

Prescription services. Berkshire Private GP does not offer a prescription provision or fulfilment service. Prescriptions will only be issued by Practitioners where it is appropriate, legal and responsible in the circumstances and as the result of discussion and mutual agreement between you and the Practitioner.

Practitioners and choice. You may not be able to choose the Practitioner for your Appointment unless we make this option available to you on the Platform, which we may do from time to time at our sole discretion. We do not make any guarantee whatsoever as to the availability of any single Practitioner at any time.

We do not make any representation nor give any warranties regarding any Practitioners’ training, qualifications or skill, although we do, as required by the CQC and UK law, make appropriate checks to ensure that each Practitioner has a current and valid registration with their regulator and a right to practice in the UK.

SAFE USE OF THE SERVICES

To ensure you are able to use the Platform and Services safely and in accordance with these Terms, you must:

provide full and accurate information about your medical history and current symptoms (to the Practitioner during an Appointment and by uploading relevant information to the Platform, as applicable). Failure to provide full information may impact on our ability to provide the Services and the ability of the Practitioner to make a full assessment of your health and care needs;
comply with our Fair Usage Policy at all times;
not use the Services for any inappropriate purposes (including, without limitation, to obtain clinically inappropriate prescriptions);
follow instructions given to you on the Platform and/or by a Practitioner;
follow instructions on any medicine or healthcare product recommended to you on the Platform and/or by a Practitioner;
seek further medical advice if you have any concerns about the information given to you on the Platform and/or by a Practitioner or if your condition changes; and
seek immediate medical assistance if you suffer adverse or unexpected effects of any treatment, medicine or healthcare product recommended to you on the Platform and/or by a Practitioner. Please see Emergencies .

Where Berkshire Private GP determines that the Berkshire Private GP Services are inappropriate for your individual needs, we may withdraw the Berkshire Private GP Services from you and you should seek appropriate healthcare advice elsewhere.

PRESCRIPTIONS, REFERRAL LETTER AND SICK NOTES

To request a prescription, referral letter or sick note, you must do this in-consultation (during a live Appointment) with a Practitioner. This is the only means of requesting a prescription, referral letter or sick note on the Platform.

Contents

You understand and accept that each Practitioner, at their sole discretion, creates prescriptions, referral letter and sick notes via the Platform based on their own professional judgement and legal obligations. You understand and accept that that the content of such items is individual, based on information you provide to the Practitioner and your presentation at the time of your consultation. As such, the contents of any prescription, referral letter or sick note may vary; the precise nature of the content shall be at the sole discretion of the Practitioner and you agree to hold harmless Berkshire Private GP, its employees, officers, directors, agents and affiliates from any claim that may arise as a result of the contents of such items. You must not tamper with the content of any such prescriptions, referral letter or sick notes. You understand and accept that there is no guarantee that such prescriptions, referral letter or sick notes will contain the content you desired, hoped for, expected, were informed of, understood or believed they would contain.

Lost prescriptions, Referral letter or sick notes

If you lose a prescription, referral letter or sick note, a copy of the relevant document may be issued, subject to the prescribing Practitioner agreeing to re-issue the document. You understand and accept that there is no guarantee that a Practitioner will agree to re-issue any document. In the event that the Practitioner re-issues your lost prescription, referral letter or sick note, you understand and accept you may be charged in accordance with the current cost for a “Copy”. In order to request a prescription, referral letter or sick note previously issued via the Platform to be re-issued please go to your Account or Contact Us .

Delivery

You may choose to receive your prescription, referral letter or sick note using the delivery services described below. Once your prescription, referral letter or sick note has been created, it will be deemed to have been received by you within the timeframes set out below.

Delivery by email

You understand and accept that documents sent by email are deemed to have been sent to you once the Platform marks the email containing the document as “correct” and “sent”, including time and date stamping that prescription for our records. You understand and accept such records shall be accepted by you as proof that we have sent the document and fulfilled our obligation to provide the same.

You understand and accept that we are not responsible for the spam, junk or mail receipt prevention tactics of your email service provider/host, which may for whatever reason outside of our control filter emails from us away from your inbox. In such instances you understand and accept that you must take such issues up with your email provider and not us.

We enable access to documents delivered via email using a pass-code, for data security reasons. Such pass-codes are issued by us and only valid (in the sole opinion of Berkshire Private GP) pass-codes will grant access to a document. You also agree to contact a Practitioner, another doctor or a pharmacist if you have any questions about prescribed medicines or do not fully understand the reasons you have been prescribed any prescribed medicine or the instructions related to the prescribed medicine.

Berkshire Private GP and the Practitioners are not responsible for any legal prescriptions provided to you that legal UK Pharmacies refuse to dispense. You accept that it remains an individual Pharmacist’s right to refuse to fulfil any prescription and/or dispense medications when presented with a legal prescription.

CONNECTIVITY

For details of the technical requirements to access and use the Platform and Services, please see the FAQ section of our website.

YOUR BERKSHIRE PRIVATE GP ACCOUNT

Registration requirements. In order to register for an account via the Platform (“ Account ”) and access the Services you represent and warrant that you:

are at least eighteen (18) years of age; and
have capacity to accept and agree to these Terms.

Register an Account on the Platform . To register with us you are required to provide accurate and complete information, including your first and last name, email address, postal address, mobile telephone number (you are not permitted to use landline numbers in place of a mobile telephone number), registered GP Practice and any other information that we specifically request. You must keep your Account details up to date at all times. We reserve the right to terminate any Account which (at any time) does not include a valid email address and mobile telephone number (not a landline) on file as part of that individual’s Account. Both the email address and mobile telephone number must be stored in the profile for your Account. Please note: this does not affect our conformity with all relevant UK laws regarding the keeping, maintenance and protection of medical/patient records.

Identification Checks / fraudulent Accounts. You will be required to verify your identity in order to use the Berkshire Private GP Services and will need to present a valid photo identification document (e.g. passport, driving licence) in order for the Appointment to proceed, these details may also need to be inputted into the Platform prior to your Appointment. We may contact you by telephone, post or email to verify identity or other Account information and may request further information from you, which you agree to provide, in order to ensure you have not fraudulently created your Account. If you do not provide this information in the manner requested within seven (7) Working Days of the request, we reserve the right to suspend, discontinue or deny you access to and use of the Platform and Services until the information is provided to our reasonable satisfaction. We may also conduct electronic identity verification checks based on the information you provide to us and should these checks fail to verify your identity, we reserve the right to suspend, discontinue or deny you access to and use of the Platform and Services until the information is provided to our reasonable satisfaction

Only register one Account to use the Platform . If you use multiple accounts for the Services, this will mean that records of your care may be inaccurate and you may put the safety and quality of your future care at risk.

Third party information that you provide. Where you upload any personal health information to the Platform which you have obtained from a third party health service provider, you warrant that such information is provided lawfully and has not been tampered with.

Keep your log-in details confidential. If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat this as confidential. You must not disclose it to any third party. If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your user identification code or password, you must promptly Contact Us .

Responsibility for your Account. You are solely responsible for all activity that occurs on your Account and you must notify us immediately if you become aware of any unauthorised use of your Account or if your login details are lost or stolen. We shall not be liable for any losses that you incur as a result of any unauthorised use of your Account.

We may monitor use. We reserve the right to monitor your use of the Platform and/or Services and to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms or if we suspect any unauthorised use or misuse of the Platform and/or Services.

We may withdraw your Account access. We reserve the right to withdraw access to your account as a result of any behaviour that is deemed abusive, inappropriate or threatening.

HOW WE MAY USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

For further information about how we use your personal information please see our Privacy and Cookies Policy.

Electronic Medical Records. Your Berkshire Private GP electronic medical record (“ EMR ”) is created for you to document (by way of consultation with a Practitioner only), store and access your personal health information online, including:

medical history;
current health conditions;
symptoms;
complaints;
allergies; and
medications,

and for your Practitioner to record the results of his or her consultations with you in accordance with his or her obligations under applicable UK law. Your Practitioner may attach to your EMR any information provided or collected as part of an Appointment (which may be made up of video, chat messages, pictures exchanged or snapped). If you want a particular detail added to your EMR it is your responsibility to express this to your Practitioner during an Appointment. By using the Platform, you agree that Berkshire Private GP and the Practitioners shall be permitted to use your EMR for the purposes of providing the Services and facilitating your care. Such use shall always be in compliance with applicable law and our Privacy and Cookies Policy.

Information Resources (Opt-in). By registering on the Platform and then providing "opt-in" consent to receive information resources and/or marketing communications, you are agreeing to the receipt of offers, promotions, surveys, newsletters and other information regarding medical and health-related topics, which may include links to other related websites.

If you do not wish to receive such communications, you may opt-out at any time by going to Account and selecting My Details and "Preferences".

Recording Appointments. Appointments are not routinely recorded to ensure data privacy and security. You are not permitted to make any form of recording of any Appointment yourself.

WE MAY MAKE CHANGES TO THESE TERMS

We may amend these Terms from time to time. Every time you wish to use our Platform, please check these Terms to ensure you understand the Terms that apply at that time. If we make any material changes to these Terms, we will try to give you reasonable notice prior to the change becoming effective. Any change will be effective immediately when the revised Terms are posted on the Platform. You should stop using the Platform if you do not agree to any changes.

These Terms were most recently updated in December 2020. We recommend that you print and keep a copy of these Terms.

WE MAY MAKE CHANGES TO THE PLATFORM AND/OR THE SERVICES AND/OR UPDATE THE APP

We may update and/or make changes to the Platform and/or the Services from time to time, for example, to reflect changes in your needs and/or our business priorities or any legal or regulatory changes. We will try to give you reasonable notice of any major changes in advance. If you are not happy with the proposed changes, then you may contact us to terminate our contract with you.

We may make updates to the App available to you from time to time. We recommend that you regularly update the App if you have downloaded a version of it to your own device, in order to take advantage of the improvements and fixes made by these updates. You may need to update the App if you have downloaded a version of it to your own device in order to continue to use the Services and you may have to accept a new version of these Terms when you update the App.

WE MAY SUSPEND OR WITHDRAW THE PLATFORM

We do not guarantee that the Platform, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend or withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of the Platform for business and operational reasons, including (without limitation) for technical or security reasons. We will try to give you reasonable notice of any suspension or withdrawal.

If we need to suspend access to the Platform at any time prior to any Appointment that you have already booked, we will notify you in advance (unless the suspension is due to unforeseen circumstances such as emergency maintenance) and arrange a new Appointment for you as soon as possible.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Platform at any time, without notice and without us bearing any liability to you. In such circumstances, any Appointments that you have already booked will be cancelled.

TEMPORARY USE LICENCE GRANTED

While you are logged into your Account, you are able to use the Platform and the Services for your own personal, non-commercial use only.

You are also granted a licence to download or stream a copy of the App (and any documents provided on or in relation to the Platform or Services) onto your Device and to view, use and display the App on such Device for your own personal, non-commercial purposes only.

These are both limited licences and you may not sell, assign, sublicense, grant a security interest in or otherwise attempt to transfer any right in the Platform, create any works based on the Platform or commercially exploit the Platform or the Services in any way. This includes (but is not limited to) selling, reselling, reproducing, duplicating or copying the Platform and/or the Services and the use of any data mining, gathering or extraction tool. Any of these uses will result in your licence being terminated and you will no longer be authorised to use the Platform or the Services.

PROBLEMS

Please see our FAQs section on our website for further information about Late Arrivals , Missed Appointments and Disruptions .

DISCLAIMERS

Medical Disclaimers: Berkshire Private GP makes no representation or warranty as to the content of any treatment response from any Practitioner. Any views expressed or advice provided by Practitioners are not necessarily endorsed by Berkshire Private GP. You and your Practitioner are solely responsible for all information provided and/or advice given via the Platform.

You should always seek the advice of a doctor or other qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical concerns (and before starting, stopping or modifying any treatment or medication) even if you have already obtained medical advice via or read relevant material on the Platform.

Berkshire Private GP does not guarantee that a video/chat/picture message consultation is the best course of accessing advice or indeed the appropriate course of treatment for your particular healthcare concern or medical issue. You agree to contact your GP immediately should your condition change or your symptoms worsen (if you are not registered with a UK doctor you agree to contact your local walk-in centre or hospital for advice). If you require urgent care, you should contact your nearest emergency services centre immediately.

Content Disclaimers: Any information on our Platform or in any communications from us (other than advice provided by a Practitioner during an Appointment) is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. Such information should not be relied upon as a substitute for seeking appropriate individual medical advice or services.

Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on the Platform, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on the Platform is accurate, complete or up to date. We accept no responsibility for any consequences relating directly or indirectly to any action or inaction you take based upon such information.

General Disclaimers: We make no warranty that the Platform or the Services will meet your requirements or that the Services will be uninterrupted, 100% secure or error-free, or that defects, if any, will be corrected. We are not responsible for transmission errors or any corruption or compromise of data carried over local or interchange telecommunication carriers.

We will take all reasonable precautions to protect against failure of our equipment and software and will perform regular back-ups of all data stored. You acknowledge and accept that in the event restoration of data from backup is necessary, it may take several days to complete such restoration of data and resume operation of the Platform and/or the Services, in which circumstances any booked Appointments shall be deemed a Disrupted Appointment .

We do not guarantee that the Platform will be secure or free from bugs or viruses. You are responsible for configuring your information technology and computer programmes in order to access the Platform. You should use your own virus protection software.

WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT: THE SATISFACTION OF GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS REQUIRING DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRODUCTS; OR ANY TREATMENT, ACTION OR APPLICATION OR PREPARATION OF MEDICATION BASED ON INFORMATION OFFERED OR PROVIDED THROUGH THE BERKSHIRE PRIVATE GP PLATFORM OR SERVICES.

We do not endorse the promotions, products or services of any third parties, nor do we warrant or validate the accuracy of any third party advertisements, promotions, communications or other materials. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of information contained on any third party websites.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE SUFFERED BY YOU

Berkshire Private GP makes no representation or warranty as to the content of any treatment response from any Practitioner. Practitioners are independent contractors and not employees of Berkshire Private GP. Any views expressed or advice provided by Practitioners are not necessarily endorsed by Berkshire Private GP. You and your Practitioner are solely responsible for all information provided and/or advice given via the Platform

We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these Terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen.

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Liability for damage to your Device or digital content. If defective digital content which we have supplied damages a device or digital content belonging to you and this is caused by our failure to use reasonable care and skill we will either repair the damage or pay you compensation. However, we will not be liable for damage which you could have avoided by following our advice to apply an update offered to you free of charge or for damage which was caused by you failing to correctly follow installation instructions or to have in place the minimum system requirements advised by us.

No liability for inability to use the Platform / reliance on any content. Subject to ‘ We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so ’ , we will not be liable to you for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising in connection with:

inability to use the Platform; or
use of or reliance on any content displayed on the Platform.

We are not liable for business losses. We only supply the Services for domestic and private use. If you use the Services for any commercial, business or resale purpose we will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.

CIRCUMSTANCES OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL

We shall not be responsible if the supply of the Services is delayed or prevented by circumstances outside our reasonable control. If this happens we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay or failure. Where the delay means that we cannot supply the Services in respect of an Appointment that you have already booked, we will try to offer you an alternative Appointment. If there is a risk of substantial delay, you may contact us to cancel your Account and/or cancel any Appointments.

TERMINATION OF OUR CONTRACT WITH YOU AND CONSEQUENCES

Our right to terminate. We may end the contract between us, terminating your right to use the Platform or the Services, if:

you do not, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information that is necessary for us to provide the Services, for example valid contact details;
you seriously (as determined by us) or repeatedly breach any of these Terms or our Fair Usage Policy;
where reasonably necessary as determined in Berkshire Private GP’s sole discretion.

You must compensate us if you break the contract. If we end the contract in the situations set out in the circumstances above we may deduct or charge you reasonable compensation for the net costs we will incur as a result of your breaking the contract.

We may withdraw the Services . We may write to you to let you know that we are going to stop providing the Services. We will try to let you know in advance of our stopping the supply of the Services.

We will advise you of any termination or suspension via the contact email held as part of your Account.

Your right to terminate. You may cancel an Appointment and/or cease using the Platform at any time.

How to cancel an Appointment / terminate Services. You may cancel an Appointment / terminate Services via the Platform or by Contacting Us.

Consequence of termination. On termination of your Account for whatever reason, we have the right to delete all data, files or other information relating to you that we store or control for any reason, subject to UK law concerning the keeping and maintenance of your EMR and relevant data protection laws. Please see our Privacy and Cookies Policy for further information.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in the Platform, and in the material published on it. These works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.

OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS

We may transfer our rights and obligations to someone else. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract you have with us.

You need our consent to transfer your rights to someone else. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these Terms to another person if we agree to this in writing.

Nobody else has any rights under these Terms. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of these Terms with the exception of Practitioners in some instances.

If a court finds part of these Terms illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

Even if we delay in enforcing these Terms, we can still enforce them later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaching these Term, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date.

Which laws apply to these Terms and where you may bring legal proceedings. These Terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Platform and/or the Services in the English courts.

DEFINITIONS

The following defined terms apply to these Terms.

Appointment means an appointment for a consultation with a Practitioner via the Platform.

Device means the computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet computer that you use to connect to the Platform.

EMR means your Electronic Medical Records as more particularly described above.

NHS Patient means a patient who uses the Platform to access NHS Funded primary care services in accordance with the terms for NHS Patients .

Practitioner(s) means the participating clinician(s) who give medical advice and provide you with related administrative services via the Platform.

Private Patient means a self-funded patient who accesses the Services in accordance with the terms for Private Patients .

Services has the meaning set out in clause 3 and as further described the Platform.

You/Your means the individual using the Platform to access the Services

Working Day means a day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, when the banks in London are open for business.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR PRIVATE (SELF-FUNDED) PATIENTS

You can use the Berkshire Private GP Private Service by paying the appropriate fee on a per Appointment basis.

We will automatically share your medical information with the NHS GP you have told us you are registered with as part of the Berkshire Private GP Service . We do this to ensure continuity of care and to comply with the requirements of the GMC. Should you not wish to share your medical information with your NHS GP you can change your preference in your Account settings.

Minors (i.e. under 18 years of age). A minor under the age of eighteen (18) is only permitted to use the Services in the following circumstances:

Where Berkshire Private GP has made the Berkshire Private GP Services available to minors; and
the minor’s parent or guardian makes a booking for an Appointment via the parent or guardian’s Account; and
the parent or guardian is present during the Appointment and has with them a valid form of photo ID (e.g. passport or driving licence), the only exception being that minors between the age of sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) can attend an Appointment with or without a parent present (but the booking for the Appointment must still be made via their parent or guardian’s Account).
OUR CONTRACT WITH YOU

How we will accept your order for the Services. Our acceptance of your order for the Berkshire Private GP Services will take place as follows:

For Pay As You Go users, by making an Appointment via the Platform and submitting your payment, you are making an offer to purchase the Services. Your offer will only be accepted by us and a contract formed when we have successfully verified your details and confirmed your Appointment via the Platform; and

We reserve the right to reject any offer for Berkshire Private GP Services at our discretion, for any or no reason.

If we cannot accept your order for the Berkshire Private GP Services. If we are unable to accept your order for the Services, we will inform you of this in writing and will not charge you for the Services. This might be because (without limitation) there are no Appointments available at the time you have requested, because of the Platform or a Practitioner is unavailable at the time you have requested, because we have not been able to verify your identity, because we have identified an error in the price or description of the Services or because we have not been able to pre-authorise the debit or credit card which is registered to your Account with any charges payable in respect of the Services that you have ordered.

Medical Issues Discussed at the Appointment. If, at the time of booking your Appointment, you have multiple (non-related) issues that you wish to discuss with the Practitioner, you should book an Appointment for each of the issues. If, at the start of a consultation, it becomes apparent that you have multiple issues that you wish to discuss with the Practitioner, the Practitioner will advise you that they can only deal with one issue during the Appointment and you will be required to book another Appointment for any other outstanding issues that you wish to discuss in the same way that you would be required to do at your GP practice.

COSTS

Where to find the price for the Services. The price of the Berkshire Private GP Services (i.e. Appointments, and any other services) (which includes VAT) will be as set out on the Platform at the time you place your order for the Services. Our fees and charges may change at any time, but price changes will not affect any Berkshire Private GP Services that you have already ordered at the time of the changes.

Prescriptions . A prescription may contain no more than a maximum of seven (7) medical items. If you agree with your Practitioner you need more than the maximum number of medical items, and the Practitioner is willing to write you multiple prescriptions, you understand and accept you will be required to purchase multiple prescriptions up to the number you require.

Our fees and charges do NOT include or cover any pharmacy fees.

The prescriptions available via the Platform for private patients are private prescriptions only (not NHS prescriptions). You understand and accept that private prescriptions are fulfilled at a charge unique to the fulfilling pharmacy, which is not under our control or the Practitioners’ control. It is your choice as to whether you have any prescription fulfilled and at what cost.

Prescriptions are issued via fax or electronically to a pharmacy close to you.

PAYMENT TERMS

Registered debit or credit card. You must have debit or credit card details and a billing address for the card registered to your Account at all times.

What happens if we got the price wrong. We take all reasonable care to ensure that the price of the Services advised to you is correct. However, it is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the Services we sell may be incorrectly priced. We will normally check prices before accepting your order so that, where the Berkshire Private GP Service’s correct price at your order date is less than our stated price at your order date, we will charge the lower amount. If the Service’s correct price at your order date is higher than the price stated to you, we will contact you for your instructions before we accept your order.

VAT. Some of the Berkshire Private GP Services, such as Appointments are exempt from VAT. Where VAT is applicable, our prices always include VAT.

We will pass on changes in the rate of VAT . If the rate of VAT changes between your order date and the date we supply the Services, we will adjust the rate of VAT that you pay, unless you have already paid for the Services in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.

Pre-authorisation of your debit or credit card . By submitting your order for the Berkshire Private GP Services, you expressly agree that we may pre-authorise the debit or credit card which is registered to your Account with any charges payable in respect of the Berkshire Private GP Services that you have ordered. On completion of the relevant Services, you expressly agree that we may automatically take payment of the charges for the relevant Services from the debit or credit card registered to your Account. If we are unable to pre-authorise or process payment of the relevant charges to your registered debit or credit card for whatever reason (whether due to due to your own action or omission or the action or omission of any third party), we will not be able to provide the relevant Berkshire Private GP Services and we will still be owed the fees and charges incurred by you personally, which we may take formal action to recover.

Prescriptions, referral letter and sick notes. If you request a prescription, referral letter and/or sick note, you accept that there is NO guarantee or warranty that your next Practitioner will agree to provide the prescription, referral letter or sick note your previous Practitioner had proposed.

In the case of a referral letter, you understand and accept we cannot be held responsible either financially or medically if your referral is declined. You understand and accept that you have given a full and accurate history to your doctor and have not withheld any information that you feel may be relevant to your referral or may affect the chance your referral may be accepted.

Delivery. If your Practitioner decides to issue a prescription, referral letter or sick note, we will deliver it to the address (email or postal address) that you have provided in your Account. You understand and accept that it is entirely your responsibility to ensure that the contact details you provide are accurate and up-to-date. the cost of delivering your prescription, referral letter or sick note, once only, by email is included in the relevant Appointment fee, as shown in our fees and charges .

We can charge interest if you make any payment late. If you do not make any payment to us by the due date we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 4% a year above the base lending rate of HSBC from time to time. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with any overdue amount.

What to do if you think an invoice is wrong. If you think an invoice is wrong please Contact Us promptly to let us know. You will not have to pay any interest until the dispute is resolved. Once the dispute is resolved we will charge you interest on properly due sums from the original due date.

The account holder is responsible for all charges incurred on an Account. Any and all charges, without exception, incurred on an Account are the responsibility of the individual who registered the Account with us. We do not accept payment by insurers on your behalf, unless expressly agreed in writing by us in advance.

Self-issuing refunds. If you use chargeback services available via your payment card provider in an attempt to self-issue refunds and we are successful in disputing any chargeback with your provider, you will pay our reasonably-incurred fees and costs in relation to administration and legal work in disputing your claim. You agree to pay such fees to us in cleared funds no more than 30 days from the dispute being successfully decided in our favour.

YOUR STATUTORY RIGHT TO CHANGE YOUR MIND

Statutory 14-day “Cooling-Off” Period. In most cases, where you purchase goods or services online, you have a statutory right to cancel your order within fourteen (14) days after the day on which the contract is entered into (“ Cooling-Off Period ”) without giving any reason.

Waiving your statutory right to cancel during the Cooling-Off Period.

PAYG Users. When you register an Account, you have the option to waive your statutory right in respect of the Cooling-Off Period. If you choose to waive your rights in this way, we will able to start providing the Berkshire Private GP Services immediately and you will be able to make a booking for an Appointment before the expiry of the Cooling-Off Period.

Once you have waived your statutory right in this way, you will not have the right to cancel the Services during the Cooling-Off Period or receive a refund of any charges that you have paid in respect of the Services (other than as set out in your Other Cancellation Rights ).

If you choose not to waive your statutory right in this way, you acknowledge that we will not perform the Berkshire Private GP Services for you for the duration of the Cooling-Off Period.

1. YOUR OTHER CANCELLATION RIGHTS

You may cancel an Appointment at any time on giving 4 hours’ notice. You may cancel any Appointment at any time by going to your Account , choosing “My Appointments” and then selecting “CANCEL THIS APPOINTMENT”. If your cancellation is successful you will receive an email from us to that effect and see an on-screen message confirming the cancellation; if you do not receive the cancellation email and see the on-screen message then you must either try again or Contact Us . You will not be charged if you cancel an Appointment up to 4 hours before the scheduled start time of the relevant Appointment.

You will be charged if you cancel an Appointment on less than 4 hours’ notice. If you cancel an Appointment within four (4) hours of the scheduled start time of the relevant Appointment you will be required to pay the full charges for the Appointment.

You accept that we are not responsible and will accept no liability for any costs, expenses or losses that you suffer as a result of your failure to properly cancel any Appointment with 4 or more hours’ notice.

2. SUMMARY OF YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.

We are under a legal duty to supply Services that are in conformity with these Terms. See the box below for a summary of your key legal rights in relation to the Services. Nothing in these terms will affect your legal rights.

Summary of your key legal rights

This is a summary of your key legal rights. These are subject to certain exceptions. For detailed information please visit the Citizens Advice website www.adviceguide.org.uk or call 03454 04 05 06 .

Where you are purchasing services , the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says:

a) You can ask us to repeat or fix a service if it's not carried out with reasonable care and skill, or get some money back if we can't fix it.

b) If you haven't agreed a price beforehand, what you're asked to pay must be reasonable.

c) If you haven't agreed a time beforehand, it must be carried out within a reasonable time.

See also Exercising your right to change your mind (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013).

PROBLEMS WITH THE SERVICES

Please see our FAQs section on our website for further information about What if I arrive late to an Appointment?, What if I miss an Appointment? and What happens if my Appointment is disrupted?.

You will be required to pay the Appointment Charge where you are at fault. In circumstances where a Late Arrival or Missed Appointment is due to your action or omission, you will not be entitled to any refund or credit of the cost of the relevant Appoint and you will be required to pay the Appointment Charge and no refund will be given.

Disruptions. In the event that we determine that your Appointment is a Disrupted Appointment, we will terminate the relevant Appointment and enable you to rebook the Appointment. You may be entitled to a Credit or Refund (at our sole discretion and subject to Circumstances where we are not at fault ). If we determine that the Disrupted Appointment occurred due to your action or omission, we will not be obliged to refund or credit the cost of the Disrupted Appointment.

Credit or Refund . Subject to the paragraph below ( Circumstances where we are not at fault ), we will either issue a refund or issue a non-transferable credit to your Account in respect of the charge for the Missed Appointment or Disrupted Appointment (as applicable).

Circumstances where we are not at fault. You understand and accept that will not provide credits or refunds in circumstances where we are not at fault, such as in the following circumstances (which is NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST but an indication only):

If we determine that a Missed Appointment or Disrupted Appointment is due to your actions or omissions and not ours.
If you are unable to connect to the Platform or if your connection is interrupted due to a problem with your internet connection, network or Device or otherwise due to your action, omission or default or other circumstances beyond our control;
If you are unable to have a private prescription, legitimately and correctly provided via the Platform, fulfilled and/or the associated medication dispensed at a pharmacy of your choice for whatever reason.
If you do not receive a prescription, referral letter or sick note as a result of an Appointment via the Platform.
If it took longer than the published waiting time on the Platform for your Appointment to start.
If you did not use all available minutes in any Appointment that you have started.

PROBLEMS WITH THE SERVICES

If we cannot treat you over the Platform. Whether you can be treated over the Platform is at the sole discretion of the Practitioner.

If we cannot prescribe the medication you require over the Platform. Whether you can be prescribed with medication over the Platform is at the sole discretion of the Practitioner.

OUR RIGHT TO TERMINATE FOR YOUR BREACH

Our right to terminate. We may end the contract between us, terminating your right to use the Platform or the Services, if:

you do not make any payment to us when it is due, as required by these Terms; or
in the other circumstances set out in Termination and Consequences .

COMPLAINTS

In the event of a complaint, please refer to our FAQs section for our relevant processes.

Alternative Dispute Resolution. Alternative dispute resolution is a process where an independent body considers the facts of a dispute and seeks to resolve it, without you having to go to court. If you are not happy with how we have handled any (non-medical) complaint, you may want to contact the alternative dispute resolution provider we use. You can submit a complaint to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (“ CEDR ”) via their website at https://www.cedr.com/consumer/ . CEDR will not charge you for making a complaint and if you are not satisfied with the outcome you can still bring legal proceedings. In addition, please note that disputes may be submitted for online resolution to the European Commission Online Dispute Resolution platform.

SCHEDULE 1

Fair Usage Policy

Our Fair Usage Policy is designed to prevent fraud, abuse of the Services and to ensure that everyone who wishes to use our Services is able to access a UK doctor as fast and safely as possible.

Unlawful, prohibited or unusual activities (non-exhaustive list)

You are not permitted to (or permit anyone else to):

use the Platform or Services in any unlawful or fraudulent way and/or for any unlawful, fraudulent or inappropriate purpose;
use the Platform or the Services for the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way;
post or transmit a message (written, verbal or via video) under a false name or use our network resources to impersonate another person or misrepresent authorisation to act on behalf of others (including but not limited to Practitioners) or Berkshire Private GP. All messages transmitted via the Platform should correctly identify the sender and you may not attempt to alter the origin of email messages or postings;
allow another person or entity to use your Account, username or password (unless a permitted minor, as applicable);
market, promote or solicit the Services except as expressly permitted by these Terms;
distribute chain letter or unsolicited bulk electronic mail ("spamming") via the Platform, to Berkshire Private GP or to any third party allegedly on behalf of Berkshire Private GP;
attempt to undermine the security or integrity of computing systems or networks of Berkshire Private GP, the Platform or any sites or platforms accessed through or via the Platform, and you must not attempt to gain unauthorised access;
harvest or collect data about any other individual who uses the Platform;
post or transmit any data, materials, content or information which is threatening, false, misleading, abusive, defamatory, derogatory, pornographic or profane, or that contains or promotes any virus, worm, Trojan horse, time bomb or other computer programming or code that is designed or intended to damage, destroy, intercept, download, interfere, manipulate or otherwise interrupt or expropriate the Platform and/or the Services;
tamper, hack, spoof, copy, modify or otherwise corrupt or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the administration, security or proper function of the Platform and/or the Services, or the server on which the Platform or related materials are stored or any server, computer or database connected to the Platform. You will not use robots or scripts with the Platform;
attempt to reverse engineer, reverse assemble, reverse compile, decompile, disassemble, translate or otherwise alter, defraud or create false results from any executable code or information on or received by this Platform. You agree to have anti-virus and/or anti-spyware software running that is set to override the Internet browser’s cookie setting;
upload or provide any information to the Platform or any Practitioner in breach of any third party’s intellectual property rights and/or any obligation of confidentiality or contractual duty owed to any third party; or
reproduce, duplicate, copy or sell any part of the Platform in contravention of the provisions of our Terms.

Breach of this Fair Usage Policy

When we consider that a breach of this Fair Usage Policy has occurred, we may take such action as we deem appropriate.

Failure to comply with this Fair Usage Policy constitutes a material breach of our Terms upon which you are permitted to use our Platform, and may result in our taking all or any of the following actions (at our sole discretion):

Deletion of any information provided by you that we deem in our sole discretion to be fraudulent, abusive, defamatory, obscene or in violation of any third party intellectual property right.
Suspension or termination of your contract for the Services. Where we consider it reasonable and at out complete discretion, we may provide you with a notice of improper behaviour before suspending, terminating or offering alternative Services, as we deem appropriate.
Issue of a warning to you;
Legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach.
Further legal action against you.
Disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel is necessary or as required by law.

We exclude our liability for all action we may take in response to breaches of this Fair Usage Policy. The actions we may take are not limited to those described above, and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate.

LOREM IPSUM