1. Payment and Cancellation
1.1. Payment: New clients must pay in advance of their first appointment, in order to confirm their booking. All existing clients must pay for each treatment session upfront. Natural Living Therapies accepts all payment types: cash, cheques, paypal or you may make a direct bank transfer in advance of your treatment. If you wish to make a bank transfer, please ask us for our bank details.
1.2. Fees and treatment duration: all clients must pay the appropriate fee for the length of their session. Clients who arrive late for their appointment or who wish to finish their session early must pay in full and cannot expect any missed time to be made up outside of their allocated time slot.
1.3. Cancellation policy: Natural Living Therapies operates a 48-hour cancellation policy. This means that all clients must give a minimum of 48 hours’ notice, by telephone call only, prior to cancellation of an appointment. They will otherwise incur the full treatment fee. Clients are therefore advised to cancel as soon as possible, if a foreseeable event is likely to prevent them from attending, for example, adverse weather conditions. Clients wishing to reschedule an appointment at less than 48 hours’ notice will be charged only an additional £10 rebooking fee, providing that their new appointment date falls no later than two weeks after their original appointment date (subject to availability of appointments). Appointments rescheduled for more than two weeks after the original appointment date will be treated as cancellations and the full treatment fee will be incurred.
1.4. Late payment: Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to withhold further treatment, until all outstanding payments have been settled.
2. Client Health
2.1. Disclosure of medical conditions: all clients will be asked to complete either a health questionnaire or interview prior to receiving treatment from Natural Living Therapies. This enables the therapist to plan and carry out safe and appropriate treatment. Clients are therefore advised to disclose all known medical conditions, undiagnosed symptoms, medical treatment and medication received when completing this form. Failure to do so may result in incorrect treatment, for which Natural Living Therapies can accept no responsibility.
2.2. Consultation with the client’s GP: Clients presenting with certain health conditions will be asked either to inform their GP that they intend to receive massage and/or aromatherapy, or to consult their GP concerning the advisability of massage and/or aromatherapy. This may be done either formally, by the therapist writing directly to the client’s GP, or informally, by the client speaking to their GP, either in person or over the phone. Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to withhold treatment until this has been done. Clients who refuse to inform or consult with their GP prior to treatment do so at their own risk. Clients who falsely claim that they have spoken with their GP do so at their own risk.
2.3. Total contra-indications: Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to withhold treatment from clients presenting with certain health conditions, until the condition has resolved. This applies in circumstances when giving treatment may pose a risk to the client and/or therapist.
2.4. Local contra-indications: Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to withhold treatment of specific areas of the body, if treating these areas may pose a health risk to the client and/or therapist. Examples include open wounds, bacterial, viral or fungal infections. Massage to other areas of the body may be appropriate, depending on the extent of injury or infection.
2.5. Acute infection or illness: Clients presenting with symptoms of acute infection or illness on the day of their session will be unable to receive treatment, both for their own protection and that of the therapist. Examples include a heavy cold, flu, stomach upset, high temperature and the sudden onset of a severe headache. Enforcement of Natural Living Therapies cancellation policy under these circumstances will be at the therapist’s discretion. Clients are therefore advised to contact their therapist as soon as possible, in the likelihood that they will be too unwell to receive treatment.
2.6. Clients with disabilities: Clients with disabilities must discuss their support needs with their therapist prior to commencing treatment. This will enable Natural Living Therapies to make appropriate provision wherever possible and to identify circumstances when this is not possible. In instances where Natural Living Therapies cannot make appropriate provision, the therapist will negotiate an alternative solution with the client, e.g. by asking the client to be accompanied by an assistant or by referring the client to a more appropriate or accessible therapist or clinic. Clients who do not disclose their disabilities and support needs in advance may be unable to receive treatment upon arrival. Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to charge the full treatment fee in this instance.
2.7. Referrals to other practitioners: Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to withhold treatment from clients whose needs appear to be beyond the scope of the services offered by Natural Living Therapies. The client may be referred to a different health practitioner, their GP or accident and emergency department, as considered most appropriate by the therapist. Natural Living Therapies may refer clients for further treatment, in addition to the massage treatment received from Natural Living Therapies. Clients who refuse to consult another practitioner or seek medical help on the recommendation of Natural Living Therapies do so at their own risk.
2.8. Referrals from a Medical Practitioner: If a medical practitioner refers a patient for treatment with Natural Living Therapies, the medical practitioner will remain clinically accountable for the client and for any treatment given by Natural Living Therapies. Natural Living Therapies reserves the right not to accept a referral, if the therapist considers that the services offered by Natural Living Therapies are not appropriate for the client. Alternatively, Natural Living Therapies may withhold treatment, pending further discussion with the medical practitioner and client.
2.9. Intoxication: Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to withhold treatment from clients who are under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs at the time of their treatment. This is for the protection of both the client and therapist.
3. Confidentiality
3.1. Confidentiality and Disclosure: Natural Living Therapies seeks to ensure confidentiality of all written and verbal information disclosed by clients. If the therapist considers that disclosure of client information to a third party is appropriate for any reason, they will firstly obtain the client’s verbal consent. However, information may be disclosed to a third party without the client’s consent, in the context of professional supervision, if the therapist considers the client or another person to be at risk of harm, or if there is a legal requirement for disclosure. Where possible, the therapist will find an alternative solution to disclosure, for example, by encouraging a client who is at risk of harm to seek further help.
4. Vulnerable Clients
4.1. Children: Clients aged under 16 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must remain present in the room at all times during the treatment session and must observe client confidentiality.
4.2. Vulnerable adults: Adult clients who are unable to give informed consent must be accompanied by a responsible adult, for example, a relative or health professional. The responsible adult must remain present in the room at all times during the treatment session and must observe client confidentiality.
5. Client Conduct
5.1. Client Hygiene: Clients are asked to observe high standards of personal hygiene and to refrain from using strong fragrances prior to their treatment.
5.2. General conduct: Clients are expected to conduct themselves with respect and consideration for others. Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to withdraw treatment from clients whose behaviour causes offence or discomfort.
5.3. Inappropriate sexual behaviour: Natural Living Therapies offers a professional therapeutic massage service. Natural Living Therapies reserves the right to refuse treatment to or immediately withdraw treatment from clients who make inappropriate remarks or who display inappropriate behaviour during treatment sessions.
5.4. Termination of treatment: If a treatment is terminated by the therapist on grounds of inappropriate client behaviour, the client will be required to pay the full treatment fee and will not be offered further treatment.
