Support

centre

Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions govern your use of the Pinhole Clinic website at pinholeclinic.co.uk. By using the website you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the website. These terms also describe how Pinhole Clinic provides private medical services, what you can expect when you contact us, and the basis on which consultations and procedures are booked, paid for and delivered. Please read them carefully.

About these terms

This website is operated by Rad Eye Ltd, trading as Pinhole Clinic. The website provides general information about interventional radiology services offered by Dr Marawan El Farargy and a way for patients, referrers and the public to contact the practice. The website is not:

A platform for booking medical care or procedures online.
A substitute for face-to-face medical assessment.
A service for emergencies. If you have an urgent or emergency medical problem, call 999 or NHS 111. Do not use enquiry forms or email for urgent symptoms.
Pathway expectations.
Interventional radiology is part of a multidisciplinary approach. For conditions such as uterine fibroids, assessment and diagnosis should normally be carried out by a gynaecologist before referral for embolisation. For peripheral arterial disease and claudication, assessment should normally be carried out by a vascular surgeon. Using this website to enquire about a procedure does not bypass the requirement for assessment by an appropriately qualified specialist where this is clinically indicated.
Where you contact Pinhole Clinic directly, Dr El Farargy may arrange for you to see the appropriate specialist first before accepting an onward referral.

Medical information disclaimer

The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Content on this website is not a substitute for consultation with an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.

Use of this website, or sending an enquiry, does not create a doctor-patient relationship. A doctor-patient relationship is only created once you have been formally accepted for consultation by Dr El Farargy.

Suitability for any procedure is assessed individually following consultation, review of imaging and discussion with the relevant specialist team. Results vary between individuals, and all procedures carry risks which will be discussed fully during consultation and consent.

Clinical decisions

Suitability for any procedure offered by Dr El Farargy is assessed individually after consultation, review of imaging and discussion with the relevant specialist team. We will only recommend a procedure where we believe it is appropriate and where we have the agreement of the wider team responsible for your care.

All procedures carry risks. The specific risks, benefits and alternatives of any procedure will be discussed with you during the consent process before the procedure is carried out. You will have time to consider the information and ask questions before deciding whether to proceed.

If we feel that a procedure is not appropriate for you, we will tell you and explain why. We will, where possible, suggest other options to discuss with your specialist or GP.

Website content

We make reasonable efforts to ensure information on this website is accurate and up to date. We do not guarantee that all content is complete, current or free from error.

Medical guidance, treatment recommendations and external links may change over time. References to professional guidance (for example from NICE or Royal Colleges) are believed to be accurate at the date the page was published. Always check directly with us, or with your specialist, before relying on this information for a clinical decision.

Intellectual property

All website content, including text, branding, graphics, photographs and design elements, is the property of Rad Eye Ltd or used with permission. All trade marks shown belong to their respective owners.

Content may not be copied, reproduced, redistributed or used to train artificial intelligence models without our prior written consent. You may link to pages on this website and quote short extracts where credit is given.

Complaints

We take any concern or complaint seriously and will respond promptly, fully and honestly. Raising a complaint will not affect your ongoing care.

How to raise a complaint

Please email info@pinholeclinic.co.uk with “Complaint” in the subject line. Tell us your name, your contact details, the date of the events you are concerned about and a brief description of the issue.

How long it will take

We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to provide a full response within 20 working days. If the matter is complex and will take longer, we will let you know within that period and tell you when to expect the response.

Independent escalation

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can ask for an independent review:

• For concerns about the professional conduct or fitness to practise of Dr El Farargy, you can contact the General Medical Council at https://www.gmc-uk.org.

• For concerns about safety, quality or care standards at the hospital where your treatment was delivered, you can contact the Care Quality Commission at https://www.cqc.org.uk. The hospital site is covered by the CQC registration set out in the Professional and regulatory information section above.

• For concerns about how your personal information has been handled, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk.

Professional and regulatory information

Dr Marawan El Farargy is a Consultant Interventional Radiologist registered with the General Medical Council under number 7476465 and on the GMC Specialist Register for Clinical Radiology.

Dr El Farargy holds personal medical indemnity with the Medical Defence Union (MDU). Indemnity arrangements meet the requirements of the General Medical Council under section 44C of the Medical Act 1983.

Private clinical services are delivered at Hertfordshire Private Healthcare at the Lister Hospital, Coreys Mill Lane, Stevenage, SG1 4AB.

The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care services in England. The Lister Hospital is registered with the Care Quality Commission as a location of East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust (CQC provider ID RWH, location ID RWH01). Regulated activities provided at the location include treatment of disease, disorder or injury, surgical procedures and diagnostic and screening procedures.

Emergencies

This website is not for emergencies. If you or someone with you has chest pain, severe bleeding, sudden loss of vision or speech, severe pain, or any other symptom that feels life-threatening, call 999 immediately.

If your symptoms are urgent but not life-threatening and you are not sure what to do, call NHS 111 or visit https://111.nhs.uk.

Enquiries sent through this website are not monitored outside normal working hours and will not be responded to in an emergency.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising in relation to the website or the services it describes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. Proceedings will be brought in the courts nearest to the practice location unless otherwise required by law.

Contact

If you have a question about these terms, please contact us:
Email: info@pinholeclinic.co.uk

Services, bookings, fees and refunds

Booking a consultation

Consultations with Dr El Farargy can be requested through the website, by phone or by email. A request is not confirmed until we have written confirmation back to you of the date, time and location of your appointment.

Payment for consultations

Self-funding patients pay the full consultation fee in advance to secure the appointment. Consultation fees are quoted in writing before the appointment is confirmed. Fees vary depending on the complexity of the consultation and any imaging or additional time required. Once you have received a written quote and agreed to it, payment is made in full to secure the appointment. We will issue a VAT-exempt receipt under VATA 1994 Schedule 9 Group 7.

Patients using private medical insurance must provide the name of their insurer, their membership number and a valid authorisation code or claim reference before the appointment. If insurance authorisation is refused, declined after the appointment, or only partially covers the fee, you remain responsible for any shortfall.

Cancellation and refunds

• Cancellation more than 24 hours before the appointment: full refund of the consultation fee, processed within 14 days to the original payment method.

• Cancellation less than 24 hours before the appointment: no refund.

• Non-attendance (no-show): no refund.

• Cancellation by Pinhole Clinic: you will be offered a free reschedule or a full refund, whichever you prefer.

Rescheduling

Where you ask to reschedule more than 24 hours before the appointment, we will move your fee to the new appointment at no extra cost. Where you ask to reschedule less than 24 hours before the appointment, a new consultation fee may be payable.

Cooling-off period

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 do not apply to medical services delivered at your express request within the 14-day cooling-off period. If you book a consultation that takes place within 14 days of booking, you confirm that you want the service to begin within that period and accept that the right to cancel within 14 days is limited to the cancellation and refund terms set out above.

Procedure fees

Fees for procedures are quoted separately. Procedure fees are made up of (a) the consultant fee invoiced by Rad Eye Ltd and (b) hospital and anaesthetic fees invoiced separately by Hertfordshire Private Healthcare at the Lister Hospital. We will provide a written estimate before any procedure is booked. Where your treatment is covered by private medical insurance, we will help you check authorisation in advance.

Booking a consultation

Payment for consultations

Cancellation and refunds

• Cancellation more than 24 hours before the appointment: full refund of the consultation fee, processed within 14 days to the original payment method.

• Cancellation less than 24 hours before the appointment: no refund.

• Non-attendance (no-show): no refund.

• Cancellation by Pinhole Clinic: you will be offered a free reschedule or a full refund, whichever you prefer.

Rescheduling

Cooling-off period

Procedure fees

External links

This website may contain links to third-party websites including NHS, NICE, Royal College and patient charity resources. We provide these links for information only.

Pinhole Clinic is not responsible for the content, availability or privacy practices of external websites. A link to an external site does not mean that Pinhole Clinic endorses the content of that site, the organisation that runs it, or any products or services it offers.

Acceptable use

You agree not to:

Use the website unlawfully.
Attempt to gain unauthorised access to systems, accounts or data.
Interfere with website functionality, performance or security.
Submit false, inaccurate or misleading information through any enquiry form or email.
Use any automated tool to scrape or collect content from the website, including for the purpose of training artificial intelligence models.
Send any content that is unlawful, harassing, defamatory, offensive or that infringes the rights of others.

Limitation of liability

We accept liability where we are required to by law.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for:

Death or personal injury caused by negligence.
Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
Failure to perform a service with reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded under English law.

Subject to the points above, to the fullest extent permitted by law, Pinhole Clinic and Rad Eye Ltd exclude liability for any loss arising from:

Reliance on the general information published on this website.
Inability to access or use the website.
Errors or omissions in website content.
The content of any external website linked from this website.