1. About us

Child Psychiatry Consultancy Ltd (Company No. 16147055, registered in England and Wales) provides specialist child and adolescent psychiatric assessment, diagnostic formulation, diagnosis and treatment, including neurodevelopmental assessment for ADHD and autism, and where clinically indicated, prescribing and medication monitoring. All services are delivered remotely via secure video consultation.

2. Who these Terms apply to

These Terms apply to the person booking and paying for services (usually a parent or carer) and, where appropriate, to the young person receiving care. Where a young person is assessed as having capacity to make decisions about aspects of their care, we will work directly with them in line with legal and professional standards, including assessment of Gillick competence where relevant.

3. How services are delivered

All appointments are provided remotely via Zoom Business — a secure, encrypted video platform — unless otherwise agreed in writing. You are responsible for ensuring you have a private space, a stable internet connection, and a suitable device. You will receive a unique, secure session link for each appointment via Carebit or Proton Workspace (ProtonMail). Session links must not be shared with anyone else.

At the start of each appointment, the clinician will confirm your identity (and your child's identity) and ask you to confirm your current location in case emergency services need to be contacted.

4. Registration, consent and information gathering

Before assessment or treatment begins, we require completion of registration and consent documentation and, where relevant, completion of parent and teacher questionnaires and other requested information. Where information is incomplete, we may pause progression through the pathway until minimum information is received or an exception is clinically documented.

For neurodevelopmental work, the pathway typically includes: referral and triage; consent; registration; questionnaires from home and school; assessment appointments (ADHD usually one appointment; autism usually two); multidisciplinary review where applicable; feedback; and final report issue.

School input is required for both ADHD and autism assessments. For home-educated children, input from a tutor or professional who works regularly with the child is accepted as an alternative.

5. Communication, portal use and forms

We use secure digital systems to support care and reduce the risk of missed information.

•       Carebit is used as the definitive clinical record, including clinician documentation, diagnostic reasoning, prescribing decisions, monitoring, correspondence, and final signed reports.

•       Zoho Forms is used to capture new patient registration information, consent, and clinical questionnaires (including parent and teacher questionnaires). Where information collected via Zoho Forms is required for the clinical record, relevant documents are uploaded into Carebit so the clinical record remains complete.

•       Softr patient portal is used for established patients to submit prescription refill requests and to access and complete assessment questionnaires. All requests submitted via Softr are reviewed clinically before any action is taken. Submission of a request via the portal does not constitute approval of that request.

•       Proton Workspace Business (ProtonMail) is used for all clinical and administrative correspondence. All emails containing patient information are encrypted end-to-end.

You agree to use the portal and forms responsibly, keep login details private, and notify us promptly if you believe your account security has been compromised.

6. Response times, urgent concerns and emergencies

Child Psychiatry Consultancy Ltd is not an emergency service. If there is immediate risk of harm to your child or anyone else, call 999 or attend A&E immediately.

For urgent matters submitted through the agreed contact route, we aim to respond the same day on working days. Urgent means a time-sensitive clinical concern that cannot safely wait, such as significant deterioration, serious adverse medication effects, or immediate safeguarding concerns.

For new referrals, we aim to respond within one working day to acknowledge receipt and explain next steps.

For routine administrative queries and non-urgent clinical messages, we respond as soon as reasonably possible during working days.

Outside of working hours, please contact your GP, call NHS 111, or attend A&E for urgent medical concerns.

7. Fees, invoices and payment

Fees are confirmed in advance of booking or at the point of booking depending on the service. Our current fee schedule is published on our website at www.childpsychiatry.uk/fees.

Any additional chargeable work — for example additional letters, liaison with third parties, or extra appointments outside an agreed package — will be discussed and agreed with you in advance before any charge is incurred.

8. Cancellations, non-attendance and rescheduling

If you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, you must notify us at least 48 hours before the appointment time.

If you cancel with less than 48 hours' notice, a fee of 50% of the appointment cost will be charged. This applies to late cancellations and non-attendance. We may waive or reduce charges at our discretion in exceptional circumstances.

Where assessments depend on third-party input — for example school questionnaires — delayed completion may delay appointments and reporting timelines. We will communicate any such delays promptly.

9. Reports, diagnosis and timescales

Our reports summarise information gathered from you, school, clinical assessment, and relevant assessment measures, and set out our clinical opinion at the time of writing. Reports may include diagnostic conclusions where clinically appropriate, based on the information available at the time of assessment.

Our reports are clinical documents intended to support families, schools, GPs, and other involved professionals in understanding a child's needs and planning appropriate support. They are not prepared for use in legal proceedings, court, or tribunal processes and should not be relied upon for those purposes. We do not accept instructions to act as expert witnesses and our reports are not expert witness reports. If you require a report for legal proceedings, you will need to instruct an appropriately qualified expert through the correct legal process.

Reports are not a guarantee of educational provision or outcomes, and we cannot control how third parties (including schools, local authorities, or other services) respond to our findings.

We aim to provide feedback and issue reports within stated timeframes once the assessment is complete and all necessary information has been received. Any changes to timelines will be communicated to you promptly with an explanation.

10. Prescribing and medication monitoring

Where medication is prescribed, this is based on clinical assessment, shared decision-making, and appropriate monitoring. You agree to provide accurate and up-to-date information — including weight, pulse, blood pressure, relevant medical history, and other medications — when requested, and to attend monitoring appointments as advised.

Medication cannot be started or continued safely if required monitoring information is not provided. We will explain what monitoring is required and what happens if it is not completed.

All prescriptions are issued electronically:

•       Non-controlled medications are issued via Clynxx, integrated with our clinical records system (Carebit), and sent directly to your nominated pharmacy.

•       Controlled medications — such as ADHD stimulants including methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine — are issued via Healistic, a secure encrypted prescribing platform with a full audit trail, and sent directly to your nominated pharmacy.

A prescription fee applies to each prescription issued outside of an included package: £40 per controlled drug prescription and £25 per non-controlled drug prescription. These fees are in addition to the appointment fee.

Medication or prescription requests submitted via the Softr patient portal are not approved until you receive written confirmation of the plan from us. Submission of a request does not constitute approval.

Prescriptions for controlled medications when a dose change is required, require a clinical review appointment and cannot be requested via the portal alone or via email.

11. Liaison with GP, school and other professionals

With appropriate consent, we may liaise with your child's GP and, where relevant, school or other professionals involved in their care. All external correspondence is sent securely via Proton Workspace Business (ProtonMail). Where there are legal restrictions or parental responsibility issues, we will act in line with safeguarding and legal requirements.

We aim to send a summary letter to your GP following each clinical appointment. If you do not wish for us to contact your GP, please inform us before your appointment so we can discuss the clinical and safety implications.

12. Safeguarding

Child Psychiatry Consultancy Ltd takes safeguarding seriously. Dr Athina Zakynthinaki is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) with Level 3 safeguarding training. Our Safeguarding Policy is published on our website.

If we are concerned about a child or young person's safety, we may need to share information with relevant services — for example children's social care, safeguarding teams, or the police — without consent where lawful and necessary to protect the child or others. We follow Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 and all relevant statutory guidance.

13. Complaints

If you are unhappy with any aspect of your care, please contact us in the first instance:

•       Email:complaints@childpsychiatry.uk

•       Post: Child Psychiatry Consultancy Ltd, 320 City Road, London, EC1V 2NZ

We will acknowledge complaints within 3 working days and aim to provide a full written response within 20 working days. If you remain dissatisfied after our internal process, you may escalate your complaint to:

•       ISCAS (Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service) — the independent complaints body for private healthcare providers in England. Website: iscas.cedr.com. There is no cost to you for this process.

•       Care Quality Commission (CQC): www.cqc.org.uk | 03000 616161 — for serious patient safety concerns.

•       General Medical Council (GMC): www.gmc-uk.org | 0161 923 6602 — for concerns about the conduct or fitness to practise of a doctor.

Our full Complaints Procedure is published on our website at www.childpsychiatry.uk/complaints-procedure.

14. Incidents, learning and openness

We promote a learning culture. If something goes wrong, we will review what happened and take action to prevent recurrence. Where a notifiable safety incident occurs, we will follow the statutory Duty of Candour (CQC Regulation 20) — being open and honest with patients and families about what happened, providing an apology, and explaining what steps have been taken. Our Duty of Candour statement is published on our website.

15. Data protection and confidentiality

We process personal data and special category health data in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Dr Athina Zakynthinaki is the Data Protection Lead. Child Psychiatry Consultancy Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, how it is used, how long it is retained, and your rights. It is published on our website at www.childpsychiatry.uk/privacy-policy.

All systems used to process patient data operate under Data Processing Agreements. These include Carebit, Zoho Forms, Softr, Proton Workspace Business, Zoom Business, Healistic, Clynxx, ESET Endpoint Security Enterprise, MHS (Conners 4), and QB Check (QbTech).

16. Record keeping

Clinical records are created and stored securely in Carebit, our GDPR-compliant encrypted clinical records system. You may request access to your personal data in line with your legal rights and our Privacy Notice. Where corrections are required, we follow a safe amendment process so the record remains accurate and fully auditable.

Records are retained in line with the NHS Records Management Code of Practice (2021): children's records until the child's 25th birthday or 8 years after last contact (whichever is longer); safeguarding records for 25 years.

17. Third-party platforms and limitations

Where third-party platforms form part of the assessment process — for example Conners 4 via MHS or the QB Test via QbTech — those platforms process data under their own terms and Data Processing Agreements. Clinically relevant outputs are stored in the patient's Carebit clinical record with appropriate safeguards.

We are not responsible for technical failures or interruptions in third-party platforms. Where such failures affect an appointment or assessment, we will communicate with you promptly and rearrange as necessary.

18. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in our services, systems, or legal obligations. The version in force will be the one provided at the time you book or begin a new package of care. The current version is always published on our website.

19. Contact details

General enquiries

info@childpsychiatry.uk

Complaints

complaints@childpsychiatry.uk

Clinical correspondence (strictly via secure email only)

admin@childpsychiatry.uk

Telephone

+447861684180

Website

www.childpsychiatry.uk

Registered Manager

Dr Athina Zakynthinaki, MD, MRCPsych, GMC 6161141

Company number

16147055

Working hours and specific contact routes for urgent matters, medication requests, and routine administrative queries are confirmed in your onboarding information.

Version 1.1  |  Review date: April 2027