Please read the following terms of use carefully. If you decide to proceed with Avon Community Therapists, consider these terms and conditions prior to signing the patient consent form (which will be sent to you directly).

Assessment

Avon Community Therapists (ACT) will visit you in your own home to assess your needs and abilities. You may wish to have your next of kin or close friend present during these visits. Written consent is required prior to the initial assessment, and then verbal consent will be sought prior to each home visit. If needed we will also request additional consent for interventions, such as referrals to external organisations, or when needing to take photos for example. You can withdraw consent at any time without it affecting your rights.

On average, the initial assessment takes between 1 – 1.5 hours and consists of obtaining subjective information; including your medical history, symptoms, your experience/ how you have been affected, your expectations, goals, and your current routine and roles that are important to you. We then complete an assessment of your home and how you currently function within it. This often includes assessing your transfers (getting in/out of bed, stepping up/down steps or stairs, etc) and reviewing your level of mobility. We may also complete a physical examination, such as taking blood pressure or assessing a joint’s range of motion. If your needs are especially complex or you suffer with a condition that affects fatigue, then the initial assessment may take place over several visits. We encourage patients to ask questions throughout and we are more than happy to explain things to you and discuss clinical reasoning. After the assessment, the therapist will discuss their findings with you and any recommendations. They may propose a treatment plan and establish goals with you, or it may be that you only need an assessment and advice. In some circumstances, we may not be able to provide any services to help with your needs. However, this would be discussed with you fully and we can often support with signposting on.

If you have been discharged from our services for over 6 months and require additional input, then you will be treated as a new patient and need an initial assessment to review your needs. If it has been less than 6 months but you have experienced a significant event, such as an admission to hospital or a fracture/ injury, then you will also require a new assessment.

Outcomes

ACT will work with you to set appropriate goals and an intervention plan to help address the problems identified. However, it is not possible to guarantee an outcome or improvement following our input. We will work with you to ensure your goals are realistic and measured, and review your progress regularly. The therapist will discuss with you if changes or adjustments to your goal or the plan need to be made. You may be given tasks to work on in between our visits, which will help towards achieving your goals. However, if you choose to not complete these or decline elements of the intervention plan it may affect your progress and/or outcome. Certain health conditions will take longer to treat and some present with relapses or deteriorations despite having Occupational Therapy input.

Customer care and complaints

We aim to meet your needs with efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness. Therapists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and adhere to their professional codes of conduct. We are committed to providing a high-quality service and working compassionately with our patients. However, if you are unhappy with our services or wish to make a complaint please contact us as we need your feedback in order to improve our standards. We aim to respond promptly and deal with all concerns confidentially. If your concerns can be dealt with informally, we will aim to resolve them in a low-key manner and enable mediation between the complainant and the individual.

If concerns cannot be dealt with informally or it is not appropriate to take this approach, then the formal complaints procedure will be followed as set out below.

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm and/or explain the details enclosed. This will be sent without undue delay.
2. We will record your complaint within our complaints register.
3. Once we have received your reply, we will acknowledge this and confirm what will happen next.
4. We then begin our investigation into the complaint. This usually includes a review of the case notes, examining the information you have given us in the complaint, and discussing the concern with the person involved. You will then be invited to meet to discuss the issues and hopefully resolve the complaint.
5. Following this, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions as agreed with you.

To make a complaint, please contact ACT via email: [email protected] or phone: 07366 486859. Please note that raising a complaint will not affect your rights or future involvement with ACT.

Risk assessment and lone working

A risk assessment will be completed prior to the visit. We will ask you to complete and sign a consent form prior to the initial assessment, but consent will also be sought prior to each intervention and potential risks and benefits discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Our lone working policy states that basic personal data including patient’s name and address will be accessible by others in the business in case of an emergency, whilst that patient is receiving our services. ACT do not tolerate any form of abuse or aggression towards staff. We will not visit those under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. We hold the right to refuse services if therapists identify risks and do not need to give advanced warning to cease our services in this situation.

Protecting your data

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – please see our privacy policy for more details on how we collect, store, use, and protect your personal data. If we need to complete a virtual assessment or triage with you then we will use secure platforms to do so, such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. We do not routinely record these communications unless requested by yourself.

Documentation

ACT do not have access to GP data so information about patient’s medical conditions and healthcare needs will need to be provided by the patient. We store all personal information securely, and in-line with HCPC guidelines for health-related data, we will keep your notes for 8 years after which they will be destroyed (please see our privacy policy for more details). We require all patients to complete our consent form prior to the initial visit, to provide therapists with adequate information to complete the assessment. This can be emailed or posted to patients. The therapist will document the initial assessment, follow-ups, and all communications (e.g. phone calls, emails), which are kept confidentially on a secure computer system and in-line with GDPR rules and regulations. You can make a freedom of information request to see your notes with 30 days written notice.

Pricing and timing

Initial assessment (1 – 1.5 hours on average, depending on complexity)

Follow-up visits (45 mins – 1 hour*)

*if a follow-up is expected to be especially complex or lengthy, an extended visit may be booked if required.

Therapist time is charged at £60 per hour (for both face-to-face clinical time and case administration). Following the free triage phone call, a quote for the initial assessment will be provided. Follow-up visits and additional admin requirements (such as liaising with other services on your behalf) will all be discussed with you when setting out the intervention plan. We visit patients within Bristol, Bath, and North Somerset. However, if you live further afield we may still be able to see you at home but this will be charged at an increased rate, due to mileage and increased travel time. Please contact us for an individual quote.

If you need to request a specific report this will be charged at £50 per document. However this only applies in very specific circumstances of which you would be aware, for example to support a PIP application.

Our preferred payment method is BACS transfers. We do accept cheques but they will be charged additionally at £1.50 per cheque due to banking admin charges. We do not accept payments from outside of the UK.

 Booking appointments

Please contact ACT via the website enquiry form, direct email, or by phone, to discuss your needs and book in an initial assessment. You can either book several follow-up visits at a time, or on a session-by-session basis. We can agree the date(s) and times either in person at the initial assessment, or afterwards by phone or email. ACT will invoice for payment following each visit, unless you have booked an initial assessment and block of 2 follow-ups together, where we will invoice after this has been completed.

 Cancellation policy

Please give at least 48 hours notice if you need to cancel a visit, to allow therapists time to reschedule their appointments and other patients. If this is not honoured the cost of the visit will unfortunately still be charged.

 Covid-19

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (high temperature, new continuous cough) please inform the therapist as soon as possible prior to the visit so we can re-arrange.

We do not routinely wear full personal protective equipment (PPE) now government guidelines have changed, as we find masks can inhibit communication with some people. However, if you are more comfortable with therapists wearing PPE or due to your condition you are especially vulnerable, please inform us and we are happy to wear appropriate PPE. We carry out individual risk assessments and so there may be other circumstances in which we wear PPE, such as carrying out personal care assessments or if the person has just been discharged from hospital.

 For any further questions please contact Avon Community Therapists –

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 07366486859