1. Please obtain a referral letter from your private/NHS GP (this is an essential requirement by your Private Medical Insurer) for Dr Pereira’s approval.

2. Please complete and return the enclosed Registration Form and 4 Clinical Questionnaires by email to info@thealtheapractice.com (or by post to The Althea Practice, Keats House, 24-26 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RS). Please note that these are routine questionnaires that must be completed by all new patients, although not all clinical questions may necessarily apply to you.

3. Please contact your Private Medical Insurer for pre-authorisation and provide your Membership and Authorisation Numbers upon booking.  If these cannot be provided, you will be required to self-fund for the consultation.   Please note that The Althea Practice no longer accepts Axa cover. Retrospective claims to insurance companies are not guaranteed to lead to reimbursement. If you have an excess on your medical insurance, please note this on the Registration Form and arrange for prepayment.

4. Please note that the fees for any treatment/consultations/administrative charges that are not covered by insurers, currently or retrospectively, are the responsibility of the patient. Our contract is with you, the patient, and not your insurance company.

5. If you are funding your own treatment, payment must be made at time of booking by telephone on 02070890619 – by credit/debit card, Payment Link, or Bank Transfer and payment received 7 days in advance of the appointment. 
    
6. If you wish to book multiple appointments, all appointments must be prepaid for together.
    
7. The Practice also accepts lump sum prepayments to hold on account, to enable patients to book appointments without delay.

8. The practice reserves the right to cancel / reschedule / remove your appointment at any time. 
    
9. Please note: your appointment will be automatically removed from the diary, if it has not been confirmed, payment received and virtual consultation link received (which is to be provided by you due to GDPR) 7 days in advance of the consultation. This is to accommodate those on the waiting list. Minimise non-attendance and reduce the administrative burden to the practice team
    
10. If, for any reason, you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment, you must give at least 48 hours’ notice / 2 working (office) days’ notice by phoning 02070890619 so that we can accommodate others on the waiting list.  Failure to do so will incur a cancellation fee i.e. the full consultation fee of £425 for 40 minutes or £850 for an 80 minute appointment, and will also be subject to these terms and conditions.

11. Please allow plenty of time for travel to the appointment to avoid being late.  If your appointment is virtual, it can be via telephone or Skype (or Zoom links can be provided by the patient, at least 2 working days prior to the appointment).

You are very welcome to bring a friend, loved one or significant other to your appointment(s) and/or have them communicate to us in writing. This may also help the treating clinician with gaining their additional perspective and may provide collateral information to help your assessment and the subsequent/ongoing treatment process.

• The Althea Practice is a single-clinician Practice that provides elective Outpatient assessment, diagnostic and non-urgent treatment services only.
• Dr Pereira’s Psychiatric Assessment process usually takes approximately 2-4 single appointments (depending on the complexity of the case), after which a diagnosis and treatment plan can be established.
• Please note that in the majority of cases, Dr Pereira does not carry out courses of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) himself, but will make an onwards referral to a therapist/psychologist for this.
• We can also offer Second Opinion assessments (e.g. for overseas patients, assessed case by case) and Independent Medical Examinations.

• The Althea Practice is not available as an emergency service, nor do we have the resources to provide such a service.
• In the case of an emergency or crisis, please go to the nearest A&E department where an on-call Psychiatrist will be available 24/7, or alternatively, contact your GP/Out of Hours GP Service who can refer you to local NHS Community Mental Health Services.
• Our Practice cannot offer access to inpatient hospital admission. Admission to hospital, whether Private or NHS, should be arranged by your GP and not The Althea Practice.
• Our Practice cannot offer urgent appointments or urgent care. Always use your GP as your first port of call for any urgent / Out of Hours advice regarding urgent care. Please be aware that comprehensive Community Multi-Disciplinary Mental Health Services are available free on the NHS, which can be accessed through your NHS GP/ Out of Hours GP Service. Following their assessment, these Community Services may result in Out of Hours support from a Home Treatment Team and/or Crisis Intervention Team.
• For complex or specialist disorders, and those requiring long-term care, NHS services will be best suited for your needs. Our service does not have Care in the Community multidisciplinary resources or out of hours / emergency services, all of which can be obtained on the NHS.

1. Call The Samaritans (24hr): 116 123
2. Text SHOUT to 85258: https://giveusashout.org
3. Phone your local NHS urgent mental health helpline: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline

• Please note our clinic policy that if private prescriptions are required and written outside of outpatient appointments then a charge £40 will apply (non-routine prescription charges vary). However, there is a standard charge for Controlled Drug prescriptions of £80 each, whether written within or outside of an appointment.
  
  Patients should give The Practice at least 7 days’ notice for repeat prescription requests.
  
  It is highly recommended that patients provide the details (email and postal address) of their pharmacy for prescriptions requested from our practice. If a patient wishes to have a prescription posted to them via Royal Mail, please be aware that this is at their own risk, as prescriptions have gone lost previously.
  
  Controlled Drug prescriptions cannot be posted or emailed and will have to be collected from Keats House either by the patient, a third party, or a courier. Please make sure the person collecting has valid ID on them.

• Please note that there is a charge to patients of between £35 and £100 (dependent on time taken and the complexity) for very brief letters to other agencies requested by patients.  Sick notes attract a fee of £45. Detailed reports are charged considerably more. Please give at least 7 days’ notice for such requests.

• Please note that if any insurance requests are received from your PMI insurers for brief reports / funding requests for further psychological or psychiatric treatment, then you will be charged £40 before completion (not usually payable by insurers). Please give at least 7 days’ notice for such requests.

• Second opinion clinical reports will be charged pro-rata for time taken in reading past clinical notes and assessment (as per assessment fee rates), payable by the patient. 

• Please note that consultation fees (Outpatient/Telephone/Skype) may vary significantly depending on complexity of case, clinic locations, special requests being accommodated, out of usual hour clinic appointments including evenings, weekends, public/bank holidays, home visits.
• Please note that Dr Pereira is no longer able to admit patients to the Nightingale Hospital (or any other hospital) and inpatient admission is subject to availability of a bed via an on-call Psychiatrist, for which the patient will need to make his/her own arrangements (or this can be done via the patient’s GP).
• Please note that all email communication is directly between yourself and the PA’s to Dr Pereira.  This will be passed onto Dr Pereira as appropriate, please await his response, which may take up to two working days’ If there is anything urgent, please contact your GP or present to A&E if an emergency.

Please phone us on 0207 089 0619 or e-mail info@thealtheapractice.com if you have any queries. Our office hours are Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm.