Your Visit
Booking in
You can email osteopath@andrew-knight.co.uk, Text or WhatsApp 07889857289 for a booking or use the Online Booking System and follow the instructions. Please remember to read below and where to find me is on the Location page.
On the first visit, as well as details of the reason for visiting, information on medical procedures and welfare will be sought; also please be sure to have a list of medications with you. Please take some time to draw this together.
If more than 6 months has elapsed from a previous visit this will need to be updated.
Infection Control
While there is no longer a legal requirement for people with coronavirus (COVID-19) infection to self-isolate, the NHS and public health advice for people with any of the symptoms of COVID-19 or a positive test result is to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days, and for 10 days for contact with those at high risk of serious illness. Bookings can be taken for appointments after this time frame. Please also be mindful that attending with an acute infection could mean spreading it to others who may not experience the effects in a mild way.
What you need to wear
In order to fully inform you about the condition you present I will need to be able to see your spine and pelvis level. Patients are advised to wear a t-shirt and leggings / sport shorts with a divide at the waist which allows for modesty for you as a patient and allows the practitioner to work to your best interest.
The Vinyl Couch and Plastic Pillow cases can be cold on bare skin – loose T-Shirt will allow room to move and be moved out of the way where necessary.
Chaperone
All patients under 18 years of age will need to be chaperoned for treatment. Anyone wishing a chaperone to be present is requested to either bring someone with them from their own household or let me know at the time of booking so a chaperone can be arranged.
I am unable to arrange instant chaperoning and if this request is made then the appointment will need to be rebooked at a time suitable to all parties.
Toilet Facilities
The Toilet will be available, please follow the now familiar handwashing advice.
Payments / Fees
I do not have contactless payment facilities but accept BACS to ordinary account Mr A M Knight, 20-99-40 70558184. You can process this in advance or after the treatment but I request that this occurs within 7 days of the appointment. Cash and Cheque are still accepted but preferably avoided.
Regular treatment / ongoing treatment / follow up treatment
The primary treatment method I use is to treat what I find after discussion and consent is given; I then suggest that patients call at need without necessarily booking a followup appointment. In some cases further treatment is necessary after the body has time to heal. This is taken on a case by case need.
The basic osteopathic thinking is about promoting movement mainly in the sense that the fluids and joints all freely move in the body. This allows for good nutritional supply and good removal of spent resources, helps the maintainance of good skeletal and organ function which is in itself promoting your health.
It may be that the sense of freedom of movement is the outcome measure one would make rather than the resolution of a pain or painful condition. Increasingly people are visiting to access this form of treatment.
If this interests you as an ongoing form of care then please discuss this with me during your appointment.
Exercises
In some cases exercises are given to aid you in your recovery or in the prevention of a return of the symptoms. These will be demonstrated and the rationale given. An information sheet is available to download here.
Applied Kinesiology Appointments
Applied Kinesiology, manual muscle testing, is used as an adjunct to evaluation in many cases. The additional information making the opinion offered and treatment recommended more specific. Applied Kinesiology testing for gut health, allergy and biochemical needs is also offered please see the Applied Kinesiology page for more information.
Consent
Decisions about your care and treatment need to be made with you. This means that I will continually keep you informed of the care/treatment I propose, the benefits of that care/treatment, any risks that may be associated with it and any alternatives to you having osteopathic treatment. This will help you make informed decisions about your care/treatment. The information I give will be specific to you, your age, current health and presenting symptoms.
Please tell me if the information I give is unclear or you do not understand what has been explained.
It is also important that you keep me informed of any changes to your state of health or changes to any medications your taking. If you wish to take time considering your course of action then a booking can be made for treatment at another time.
Regular review of the consent regulations is undertaken as part of Continuing Professional Development.
Disabled access
Coombedene has limited access for disability, but patients with severe mobility impairment and those in a wheelchair are unable to access the building. In these cases alternative arrangemets can be made including the organising of a Home Visit.
Bringing Children to your appointment
Your appointment is an opportunity for you to discuss issues about your healthcare and wellbeing. It is requested that you make provision for your children to be looked after so you can fully focus on your appointment and the decisions and consents you will need to make at the time.
If it is necessary to bring your children then please make sure they have an activity to do whilst they are here and have been told what will occur so they are not concerned by what they see or hear. The treatment room is not “child proof” and presents opportunities for toddlers that will draw your attention away from making informed choices for yourself.
Contact after the appointment
If you have any questions or concerns or wish to let me know that you have recovered please be in touch – I would much rather support and reassure you than not get a call, text or email and its always nice to know that you are happy with the outcome of your treatment.
It may not be possible to answer a voice call immediately, usually because I am with someone else. Please leave your name and telephone number to ensure a call back.
Email is the preferred method of support offered to those on the Dysbiosis/Allergy programme as the reply will be written and can be added to your take home information.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
A full copy of the GDPR policy wording is available here which details how your data is collected, processed and stored. You will be asked for your consent to this at your next appointment.
Your personal details are private to you and will not be disclosed unless a legal application is received.
Records and details are stored electronically in a bespoke program designed for the purpose which contains data security measures as part of the program. This is only accessible from the office location.
Your personal data will only be used in pursuance of your care or contact relating to practice management needs. I am registered with the Information Commissioner.
If I am contacted by a Track and Trace officer I am permitted to share basic contact information such as the patient name, address, telephone number and email address with tracing agents under article 6 - performance of a task carried out in the public interest. This is the limit of any data that can be shared.
Feedback
Feedback is welcome when constructive as it means we can act to improve. Often even small changes can make a huge difference. If you don’t tell me I cannot do anything about them.
Please email or leave a comment on the Facebook page and for more general feedback on Osteopathy you can relate your experiences to the Osteopathic Research team at NCOR via their feedback site – many thanks.”
