This is to confirm that an appointment has been made for you to see Mr. Aziz Ahmad, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon (specialising in spines) at the Oaks Hospital outpatient department.

The appointment will consist of a 30 minute consultation and examination. Please let me know if you wish to have a chaperone present for this appointment and examination. Any further consultations are 15 minutes in length.

If you are privately insured, please contact your insurance company to check on the conditions and cover of your policy. Please be aware that under insured amounts are the patient’s liability. Insurance companies regularly check to ensure we have received a referral letter from your doctor. If we are unable to provide this evidence it may invalidate your insurance claim.

Would you please bring with you any X-rays or scans that you have had taken relating to this condition, or notify my secretary if these were done at another hospital, so that they may be viewed at your appointment (if we have not already discussed the matter)?

If you are not insured and have any investigations or procedures performed, The Oaks Hospital may require payment at the time of your visit (debit card facilities are available). The reception staff will be happy to assist you.

If you are self-funding, you will be sent a payment link via email three days before your appointment to settle your invoice at a convenient time. My fee for an initial consultation is £235 and for any subsequent consultations (follow-up), my fee is £180.00.

Please note I have outsourced billing to CF2H who will contact and raise invoice for all self pay patient and insurance shortfall.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE MAY BE A LATE CANCELLATION FEE (LESS THAN 24 HOURS’ NOTICE) OR FOR NON-ATTENDANCE, OF £100.

Please note when a minor procedure/examination is carried out during your consultation you will likely receive a bill from the Oaks for the hospital charges, please contact the Oaks direct if you would like a quote for these costs.

Following your consultation you may need certain tests (such as blood tests or imaging, for example an X-ray, MRI or CT scan) to help me diagnose your condition. If the test is undertaken by the Oaks Hospital, and not by myself, the fees for those tests will be determined by the hospital and charged to you or your private medical insurer, separately. If there are any fees which I will charge in relation to any of the tests I advise that you have, I will let you know what those will be.

We are required by law to provide you with an estimate of the cumulative consultant costs of the treatment pathway. These can be obtained from the Marketing Department at the Oaks Hospital, or my secretary. The consultant fees will be charged separately to any fees charged by the hospital. My fees do not include any fees that the hospital or anaesthetist may charge for undertaking treatment, nor do they include any further treatment, tests or follow-up outpatients from other consultants.

Please be aware that all treatments and tests carry a risk of unforeseen complications which may, for example, require further treatment, outpatient follow-ups or a longer than anticipated stay in hospital.

Financial Interests: I am legally obliged to tell you if I have any financial interests in the Oaks Hospital or Ramsay Healthcare. I can confirm I do not have any such financial interests.

Quality Information: You can compare independent information about the quality of private treatment offered at the Oaks Hospital and other private healthcare providers from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) website: www.phin.org.uk

If I plan to undertake a procedure (spinal injections or spinal surgery) I will direct you towards the British Association of Spinal Surgeons website (BASS) for further information.

We will routinely send a copy of the clinic letter to you by email, but if you do not receive one for any reason, please let us know and we will resend it.

PLEASE VIEW MY WEBSITE (AS HIGHLIGHTED AT HEAD OF THIS LETTER) FOR FURTHER USEFUL INFORMATION.

INSURANCE COMPANY INFORMATION
For your convenience we will invoice your insurance company directly. Please be aware that I am unable to invoice insurance companies without your membership number or authorisation number.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE INSURANCE PROVIDERS WHO MR AZIZ AHMAD IS RECOGNISED BY ARE AS FOLLOWS:

AVIVA
AXA HEALTH
BUPA
VITALITY HEALTH
WPA
Cigna
Healix Health Services
Westfiled Health
National Friendly Claim
The Exeter
Freedom Health Insurance

Mr Ahmad’s consultant fees are covered by all the above insurers, but there may be a shortfall on occasion when you are having spinal injections or major surgery. I will always make you aware, in advance, of the potential cost.

PLEASE SIGN TO SAY YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THIS LETTER (WHETHER YOU ARE INSURED OR SELF-FUNDING) – AND BRING THIS COPY OF THE LETTER WITH YOU TO CLINIC – MANY THANKS

TO BE SIGNED BY ALL PATIENTS – INSURED OR SELF-FUNDING (BELOW)

Signed…………………………………………………… Date……………………

The patient has signed the patient treatment pathway and fee schedule, as well as the Article 22 CMA document.
The patient is aware of ongoing costs, whether insured or self-funding.