Terms

These terms cover the use of this website and the provision of medical services by Thread Practice Ltd, trading as Thread. Retainer patients also receive a written agreement at the point of signing, which takes precedence over anything on this page.

What this website is

This site describes a private GP practice and publishes general articles about cancer treatment, survivorship, and supportive care. Nothing on it is medical advice about your own case, and reading it does not create a doctor–patient relationship. That relationship begins at your first consultation, and not before.

Articles are written by Dr Laura Gastaldi MD, MRCGP for a UK audience and are dated. Medicine changes; an article that was accurate when published may not be current. Where a link leads to another organisation, that organisation is responsible for its own content.

Scope of the service

Thread provides general practice care to patients in active cancer treatment and in survivorship. It does not provide chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, or surgical oncology; those remain with your treating oncologist. It does not provide emergency or out-of-hours care, end-of-life care in the community, psychology or psychotherapy, cosmetic treatment, weight-management prescribing, medico-legal reports, paediatrics, or home visits.

In an emergency, call 999 or go to A&E. If you are having treatment and become unwell — particularly with a temperature — call the 24-hour triage line given to you by your treatment centre immediately.

Fees and payment

Consultation fees are published on the home page and are the fees that apply, without exception or negotiation at the point of care. Fees are quoted in pounds sterling. Clinical consultations are exempt from VAT under Schedule 9, Group 7, Item 1 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.

Consultations are payable on the day. Laboratory, imaging, and hospital facility charges are billed by the hospital directly to you, and are not included in the consultation fee unless a retainer states otherwise.

Where a private medical insurer covers a consultation, you remain responsible for any shortfall, excess, or amount the insurer declines. The practice will tell you what it expects an insurer to cover, but cannot guarantee another company's decision.

Retainers

• Billed monthly in advance, by standing order or card.
• Three-month minimum commitment from the start date.
• Thirty days' written notice to end, at any point after the minimum term. Notice takes effect at the end of the following billing month.
• Unused consultations do not roll over between months, and are not refundable. A retainer buys availability at a stated cadence, not a bank of appointments.
• The practice may end a retainer on thirty days' notice, and will help you transfer care where it does.
• Response-time commitments apply on working days, and are suspended during notified annual leave, when cover arrangements are set out to you in advance.

Cancellation

Please give at least 24 hours' notice to change or cancel a consultation. Consultations cancelled with less notice, or missed, may be charged in full. This is waived without argument where the reason is your treatment or your illness — which, in this practice, it usually is.

Consent and records

Care is provided on the basis of informed consent. With your consent, the practice writes to your oncologist and your NHS GP so that your record stays complete; you may decline, and the practice will record that you have. How your information is handled is set out in the privacy notice.

Trusted Partners

The practice keeps a list of vetted external providers and makes introductions where they would help. It receives no commission, no referral fee, and no payment of any kind from any of them. Those providers contract with you directly, and the practice is not responsible for the services they deliver.

Complaints

If something goes wrong, write to laura@threadpractice.co.uk. You will get an acknowledgement within three working days and a substantive response within twenty working days. If you remain unhappy, you may take the matter to the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service, and you may raise concerns about a doctor with the General Medical Council at any time.

Liability

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, the practice is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for the acts of third-party providers you engage yourself.

Dr Laura Gastaldi holds professional indemnity through the Medical Protection Society (MPS) for the declared scope of this practice.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.