Thank you for choosing to attend your outpatient appointment with me. I am writing to summarise important information that covers mutual expectations regarding the service I provide. I encourage you to read it before your appointment and assume you have read and understood this information by attending the appointment and are in agreement.
- My Practice Name and Communication
- Practice Locations
- My Fees
- Private Medical Insurance
- Clinical Administration Costs
- Prescription Requests to GPs and Shared Care Agreements
- Services I Cannot Offer
- Diagnostic Opinions
- Assessment Reports
- Cancellation Policy
- Outstanding Invoices
- Mutual Respect
- Contacting Me
- Appendix - Resources for Crisis Support
My Practice Name and Communication
I operate a paperless service, and all communication is via electronic means only.
The communication you will receive from me during your clinical care will note the name "Umid", a short version of "Umid Healthcare Ltd", which is my Limited Company registered with Companies House, registration number 14498359.
I use a secure electronic clinical record system called Carebit, and you will receive communication/letters, etc., from Carebit or messages from "Umid" or "Team Umid", which is the admin and clinical support team for my service.
You may receive additional communication from the Priory Well Being Centre, which is where my clinical practice is based. Any clinical letters will also be stored in Priory's electronic records system. My practice team uses Salesforce for enquiry management, and responses to your enquiries may note the Salesforce address. All electronic prescriptions are sent via SignatureRx. Please ensure that you mark any communication from us as safe and check your spam folder in case your email provider directs it to the junk folders.
I issue all prescriptions via Signature Pharmacy and you will receive electronic prescriptions and notifications about controlled drug prescriptions and payment links from the Signature Pharmacy where I have issued you a prescription.
Practice Locations
I am an independent Consultant Psychiatrist. My practice location is:
UMID, The Barn Annexe, Warren Corner, Andover Road, Micheldever Station, Winchester SO21 3AR
I offer online appointments on Mondays (10 am to 6 pm) and face-to-face appointments on Tuesdays (10 am to 6 pm).
My Fees
My consultation fees are:
- 50-minute Standard Psychiatric Assessment - £450
- ADHD Assessment (Adult) - £1,250
- ADHD Assessment (12-18) - £1,750
- Autism Assessment - £1,500
- Joint Autism and ADHD Assessment - £2,450
- 25-minute Psychiatric Follow-up - £225
- 50-minute extended Follow-up - £450
- ADHD Treatment Package (6 x 15 min appointments at baseline and weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12, all offered remotely) - £1,250
- Joint Psychiatric and Psychological Assessment - £600
The standard psychiatric assessment does not include an ADHD or autism evaluation, which requires a separate structured assessment. However, if your question concerns an ADHD/autism diagnosis, the assessment will be able to determine whether such an assessment is indicated. An ADHD Treatment Package is available for patients who wish to have treatment after my assessment. The standard ADHD assessment is diagnostic only and will not make recommendations on medication treatment.
My fees only cover the specific appointment and any letters and prescriptions agreed upon during the appointment for that consultation. If required, ongoing support and other services have separate charges, as outlined in the section on Prescriptions and Clinical Administration Services.
Please note that the fees above are subject to regular reviews, and we will only charge you according to the pricing structure at the time when your appointment is booked.
Private Medical Insurance
I welcome patients funding their treatment with Private Medical Insurance, and I am registered with major insurance companies such as BUPA, AXA, Aviva, Cigna, Healix and Vitality.
In terms of PMI-funded assessments for ADHD and Autism, please note that the current policy of BUPA and some other PMI providers is that even if you are seeking a diagnostic assessment for ADHD/Autism, your initial appointment is for a standard psychiatric consultation. If the assessment concludes that a specialist assessment for ADHD/Autism is needed, I'll note that in my report and forward you a copy, which you can share with the insurance company to authorise the specialist assessment should your policy cover it. I do not control the outcome of this process and cannot facilitate or expedite it in any way, as insurance companies do not share their decision-making process or the outcome with me. You can read more about BUPA funded Autism/ADHD assessments here:
BUPA-funded ADHD or Autism Assessments
The exception to the above is if you have insurance with Vitality, Healix or AXA, which operates differently, and I have an approved ADHD/Autism assessment provider status with Vitality. If you have a Vitality authorisation code for ADHD/Autism assessments, I can offer you a direct specialist assessment under that authorisation, and Vitality would usually fund the treatment afterwards if needed, though it will require a separate authorisation. For most patients, AXA and BUPA only fund specialist assessment when authorised, not the treatment.
Clinical Administration Costs
Any prescriptions from our appointment or as part of the ADHD treatment package are free. For additional prescriptions outside the appointments, the following costs apply:
- Controlled drug prescription - £75 per prescription
- Non-controlled drug prescription - £25 per prescription
For letters other than a clinical letter to you and the GP as part of the appointment, my fee is £60 per 10 minutes of clinical administrative work. The minimum chargeable time is 10 minutes. If you are funding your appointment with PMI, please note that your authorisation covers the time in consultation only, a letter to the GP, and any prescriptions agreed upon during the appointment. Your insurance policy does not cover any provision of care outside this and will be charged separately to you.
If you need blood tests, imaging, or other investigations, I can recommend providers, or you can choose your own. The service provider sets any costs.
Prescription Requests to GPs and Shared Care Agreements
I provide private psychiatric assessment and treatment services which have associated private care costs. I encourage all patients to make their own evaluation of whether it is a financially viable option to continue to receive treatment in private care.
It is my usual practice to issue private prescriptions in private care, and I can not ask or direct GPs to initiate a medication or prescribe your current medication on an ongoing basis. I am prepared to request that the GP take over prescriptions or request a shared care agreement from your GP, which would allow your prescriptions to continue with the GP practice if this is your preference. However, this can only proceed once you have discussed the matter with your GP and forwarded an email confirmation of this decision to me. This confirmation should be sent either directly from the GP surgery or by you to umid@umid.co.uk. Please note that without such confirmation, I will not be able to request a shared care agreement or ask GPs to issue prescriptions.
Most GPs would only consider taking over prescribing when the medication dose is stable, symptoms are well controlled, no future changes are expected, there is evidence of efficacy and in their opinion it is safe for prescription to be continued in private care while having planned regular appointments with me. This is unlikely to happen in the initial phase of the treatment, and I can not initiate a discussion with your GP about this. Should this be a preference, please consult your GP to discuss the possibility. Under any agreed shared care arrangements, a minimum of annual appointments with me would be required. It is important to understand that the decision to take over prescriptions rests entirely with the GP. GPs are increasingly of the opinion that private care should remain within the private sector rather than being transferred to the NHS.
Should you require additional interventions such as blood tests, ECGs, scans, therapy, or inpatient care, I can only facilitate these in private settings. These services would incur additional charges, payable directly to the service providers.
Do be aware that the costs of private prescriptions differ from NHS prescriptions and can vary. These are to be paid to the pharmacy. Any prescriptions issued outside of outpatient appointments will attract prescription charges. If I prescribe medications for you in private practice, mandatory follow-up reviews will be required at least every six months as it is my professional and legal responsibility to ensure that medication prescriptions remain appropriate for your needs. Should any changes be required, these can only be made in a scheduled follow-up appointment and not via emails.
It is crucial to understand that I have no influence over NHS shared care decisions and am unable to advocate on your behalf in this matter.
Regarding ADHD medications specifically, a shared care agreement request (upon authorisation by the GP) can only be made if the medication dose has been stable for at least three months. There must also be evidence of efficacy and improvement in quality of life, with no significant side effects. Please bear in mind that if medication changes are required during the titration process, this can extend beyond three months, which is not covered by the three-month ADHD treatment package costs. GPs would want confirmation that annual ADHD reviews are in place.
I complete all private prescriptions once a week on Wednesdays/Thursdays. All repeat prescription requests can only be actioned if received via the repeat prescription form noted at the following link:
Repeat Prescription Request Form (zohopublic.eu)
Email requests without the prescription form do not form part of the prescription list and are not guaranteed to be actioned. Please ensure that you have given sufficient notice to receive your prescription in time and that all requests are received by 5 p.m. on Tuesdays.
All controlled drugs can only be issued for a maximum of 30 days at a time, and the prescription is only valid for 28 days from the date on the prescription. A non-controlled drug prescription can only be issued for a maximum period of three months.
I can only issue private prescriptions. Please note that the prescription costs noted in my fees are for the cost of writing and sending a private prescription. These do not include medication costs, which are payable to the pharmacy. The costs that the pharmacy would charge are variable and depend upon medication. These are not the same as NHS prescription costs. It is not possible for me to give an idea of how much a particular medication may cost.
All controlled drug prescriptions are sent to Signature Pharmacy who would then contact you to arrange for payment for the cost of the medication and delivery to your home address. I do not send controlled drug prescriptions directly to home addresses. For non-controlled drug prescriptions, you will get a link with code in your text/email and you can choose to have your medication delivered or take it to a high street pharmacy for dispensing. I prescribe medications based on the understanding that you would familiarise yourself with the essential information on the medication from the information resource noted https://choiceandmedication.org/umid
Services I Cannot Offer
I do clinical work on specific days of the week only. Responding to emails, prescriptions, letters, etc., incurs additional fees as outlined above and is only possible on my working days. I aim to respond to any clinical queries within three working days. My diary is booked well in advance, though please contact us if you need to see me for a follow-up sooner than scheduled, and I'll do my best to find a time as soon as possible.
I offer pre-booked scheduled appointments only and cannot provide emergency or crisis support. If you are likely to require urgent care, emergency referrals for inpatient admission or have serious safety concerns for yourself or others, my service is not the right one for you. Similarly, should your needs change and my scheduled outpatient support is no longer safe or appropriate, or if you are likely to require regular support outside scheduled appointments, my service will not meet your needs. I'll signpost you to other providers who can provide such support. This may include inpatient admission or intensive daycare. I can suggest suitable private facilities that offer such services in this case, and I can write a referral letter chargeable at clinical admin rates if you would like me to do so. However, I cannot direct other providers to agree on a specific service or authorise such admission. I do not work for any inpatient or daycare provider settings and do not have admitting rights to such settings.
The initial assessment appointment is to formulate your difficulties, consider the diagnosis and make appropriate recommendations regarding future treatment. The assessment and ongoing treatment are two separate considerations, and an assessment with me does not constitute a commitment to provide ongoing care. In most cases, I will provide continuing psychiatric support if you are happy to schedule required follow-up appointments, except in situations such as those noted in the paragraph above. Sometimes, the initial assessment may conclude that I cannot meet your needs in this private outpatient setting. If so, I will explain my recommendations and suggest more appropriate care options. I cannot provide treatment that I believe to be unsafe or inappropriate, even if that is your preference. In such cases, it will not be appropriate for me to provide ongoing care. However, I'll be able to make recommendations on how and where these needs can be met despite not being able to facilitate access to such services.
As I only offer scheduled appointments only, there is no clinical cover during my leave. Any queries for clinical support that cannot wait for my return must be directed to the GP.
I can only prescribe privately and cannot ask your NHS GP to initiate or monitor medications after our initial consultation. GPs expect the specialist to monitor new medications until doses stabilise, and the decision to continue prescribing afterwards is at the GP's discretion with the provision of a shared care agreement, which means that the Psychiatrist continues to offer outpatient reviews where indicated. I cannot influence any other NHS services to expedite or transfer your care to NHS service. If I start a new medication in our initial assessment appointment, I have an obligation to arrange follow-up appointments to monitor medication and side effects and continue to do so until the dose has stabilised and symptoms have improved. I am not able to initiate a medication without monitoring and follow-up support and cannot ask GPs to initiate and monitor medication after the initial appointment. I follow professional standards requiring me to inform the GP of all aspects of care and will not be able to offer a service if you would not like outpatient letters to be sent to the GP.
Some medications have specific blood or ECG monitoring requirements. If a medication is initiated in private care, GPs may expect such monitoring to be arranged by the specialist in private care. I can make arrangements if such monitoring is required. This would attract additional costs from the provider. I am unable to arrange this monitoring in NHS care.
For ADHD, I cannot start treatment following an ADHD diagnosis without an agreement on dose titration, monitoring, and follow-up over three months with regularly scheduled appointments. I can only start prescribing once this has been paid for and appointments have been made. This mandatory specialist oversight is required when initiating and titrating ADHD medications. I cannot transfer prescriptions to your GP until after this monitoring period, and any shared care agreement afterwards is at your GP's discretion. This treatment pathway is covered in the ADHD treatment package, separate from the ADHD assessment costs. I'll, of course, be happy to continue to offer follow-ups and prescribe if needed. If you expect your GP to take over prescribing after the three-month period under shared care, please check with your GP beforehand to see if they would be happy to do so, as they have a right to decline.
For ongoing care, I aim to provide regular monitoring and support via regular outpatient appointments. Once you feel that you no longer require this, I will discharge you from my clinic and can only offer further advice or prescriptions if you re-refer yourself for follow-up. In this case, if I see you again after a period of six months, I will need to arrange a longer follow-up appointment for 50 minutes to get clinical updates on the progress if I have not seen you for a while. Please note that it may not be appropriate for me to see you again if discharged, and I may not be able to provide further care.
Diagnostic Opinions
My goal is to provide a thorough assessment and make appropriate treatment recommendations. My fees cover my time and expertise. I do not aim to provide any specific diagnosis or medication if it conflicts with my professional opinion or standards.
My diagnostic opinion represents my professional judgement, which could differ from your initial impression or that of other professionals. An ADHD or autism assessment may not always result in those diagnoses, but it should still provide insights into what's happening and suggest further steps. The same applies to other psychiatric diagnoses.
If you feel strongly that a specific diagnosis or medication should be the outcome of the assessment with me, I may not be the right provider, as my perspective may differ. By attending our appointment, you confirm that my professional opinion would be acceptable to you, though you have a right not to implement any recommendations I made. You also have a right to seek assessment and treatment from a different psychiatrist should you wish to do so. However, I am not able to respond to requests to change my diagnostic opinions or recommendations made in consultation and in the written report.
Assessment Reports
It is my standard practice to write a letter to you following the appointment with a copy to the GP or the referring practitioner. I do my best to work with the following time frames for sending the letters out, though my or my admin team's leave arrangements, sickness, etc., may change these, so the time frames are not guaranteed.
Standard Psychiatric Assessment and Follow-ups - One week ADHD Assessments - Two weeks Autism Assessments/Joint Autism and ADHD assessments - Two weeks
Please allow up to one week for any agreed prescriptions or referrals following standard psychiatric consultation and follow-ups to be made and sent to you.
My letters and reports aim to highlight the key aspects of our discussion, focusing on the most relevant clinical points that relate to your diagnostic assessment and current treatment plan. I aim to present this information clearly and concisely, emphasising the factors most important to your ongoing care. It does not aim to capture all aspects of the discussion.
As a clinical document, the report reflects the professional views of your clinician. Whilst I try and make every effort for the report to be accurate, I am unable to make amendments or add or exclude information after the report is sent out to accommodate specific preferences. The report may not align with personal preferences for style or content, as its primary purpose is to serve as a medical record and a reminder of the key aspects of the discussion for you.
If you need to share information with your employer or insurance company and do not wish personal information in the report to be shared, I can provide a condensed version called "Summary of Diagnostic Conclusions and Treatment Plan". This includes only the diagnosis and treatment sections. Please let us know if you'd like this in addition to the main report.
It's worth noting that any information about recreational drugs or alcohol use is included because it's clinically relevant to your mental health, potential medication interactions, and overall treatment plan. This is considered essential information in a psychiatric assessment. I cannot accommodate requests for this information to be excluded.
Whilst my report isn't intended for medicolegal, occupational, or educational purposes, you're welcome to share it with anyone you feel appropriate. If you need a specialised report for these purposes, we'd need to conduct a separate assessment.
The diagnosis provided represents my professional opinion, based on the information gathered during your assessment and my clinical expertise. Whilst I may use questionnaires as part of the process, the assessment meeting itself is the primary basis for diagnosis, and the outcome may differ from what the questionnaires initially suggested. The questionnaire results can only be interpreted by the clinician in the context of all available information; these do not have any diagnostic validity on their own.
The information in my report and letters constitutes the only formal clinical record of the assessment process and outcome. Additional information, including self-report questionnaires completed prior to the appointment and used as part of the consultation meeting or referred to in the report, is not available as supplemental information to the report.
Cancellation Policy
Please provide at least 48 hours' notice to reschedule or cancel. Otherwise, the full fee will be charged. This is because the appointment slot cannot be filled by another person at such short notice.
Outstanding Invoices
I reserve the right to stop providing care if your account has unpaid invoices. My invoicing system automatically cancels bookings without payment 48 hours in advance and blocks further bookings if your account has outstanding debts. In this case, I will not be able to provide ongoing care or facilitate alternative care as I do not have any influence over NHS care pathways or make referrals to NHS services, which you can explore via making an appointment with your GP and discussing avenues of support available to you.
Mutual Respect
My admin support team and I aim to provide compassionate, professional, and respectful service, and I ask that we work together based on the spirit of mutual respect. Please let me know if you are dissatisfied at any stage, and I'll do my best to address and resolve any issues. However, I reserve the right to end the care provision in case of threatening or abusive behaviour towards any of my team members.
Contacting Me
I look forward to meeting you. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Practice Support Team at umid@umid.co.uk with specific details of your enquiry. Email is the best way to reach my team for a prompt response and to ensure that it is addressed by the right person. You can also call my team at 01962 435 090 (10 am to 2 pm, Monday to Friday). My team aims to respond to all administrative enquiries by the end of the next working day.
Whilst my practice support team will happily address any queries regarding bookings, invoicing and administrative issues, they cannot offer advice on clinical or related matters. You can ask my practice team to bring your appointment forward should you need support before your next appointment.
If you would like me to discuss aspects of your clinical care with a close relative following your appointment, please email us the concerned relative's name, telephone number and email address, and provide consent for sharing clinical information with the specified person in your email. You may also wish to share previous clinical letters, so they have background information on the previous discussions before the appointment. My team will be happy to schedule an appointment that is chargeable at standard follow-up appointment rates.
Please visit https://umid.co.uk/drbaig for additional information regarding contact details, bookings, fees and common enquiries.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Kaleem Baig FRCPsych FFMLM FCMI FRSA Consultant Psychiatrist
Appendix - Resources for Crisis Support
While you are awaiting your appointment or if you need urgent and crisis support while you are seeing me, you may find the following resources helpful. As noted, I only offer pre-arranged outpatient appointments and cannot provide urgent, intensive community care or crisis and emergency support.
If you ever feel that your life is at risk and you might attempt suicide or seriously harm yourself – Call 999 or head to A&E. Mental health emergencies are serious – you are not wasting anyone's time.
If you are safe and need someone to talk to for urgent support in a crisis, you can get it here:
- Call NHS 111 – mental health support 24/7 help in crisis https://111.nhs.uk/
- Call Samaritans on 116 123 www.samaritans.org
- Text "SHOUT" to 85258 www.giveusashout.org
- If you are under 19, you can also call 0800 1111 to talk to Childline. The number will not appear on your phone bill.
- For young people, visit Papyrus at www.Papyrus-uk.org
Other Helpful support organisations:
- Saneline – 0300 304 7000 (4:30pm – 10:30pm) or www.sane.org.uk
- Alcoholics Anonymous – 0800 9177 650 or help@aamail.org
- The Silver Line – (helpline for older people) 0800 4 70 80 90
- The Mix – Under 25s www.themix.org.uk 0808 808 4994
- Switchboard – LGBT chris@switchboard.lgbt 0300 330 0630 (10am – 10pm)
- CALM – www.thecalmzone.net 0800 585858 (5pm – Midnight)
- BEAT - Support with Eating Disorders www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk
You can also download the following resources for wellbeing support:
- Download the Stay Alive app from the Apple or Google Play store. Alternatively, visit www.stayalive.app
- Visit www.hubofhope.co.uk for support in your area for a range of issues
- You may also find the Headspace mindfulness app useful (www.headspace.com)