FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

INITIAL CONSULTATION

You will need to contact one of the following to arrange for your consultation:

  • Kat & Co Aesthetics: 0121 456 7930
  • Spire Parkway Hospital, Solihull: 0121 704 5530

Only the patient is allowed in the clinic. We advise patients not to bring children to the clinic as they will not be allowed into the consultation with you. We have outdoor seating available for relatives and a wide range of restaurants and cafes in the surrounding area.

The initial consultation charge for surgical consultations range from £150 to £195 for uninsured patients. There is no additional charge for a second consultation before proceeding with surgery. The consultation fee for non-surgical treatments range from free consultation to £80 redeemable against treatment. We are currently offering free promotional appointments with some of our surgeons and aesthetic doctors. Please call the clinic on 0121 456 7930 for more details.
The full consultation fee is paid when you make the booking. Our cancellation policy: Any Changes to the booking including cancellation within two weeks of the appointment date will incur a charge of 50% of the consultation fee. The full amount will be charged for any changes within 48 hours of your appointment including cancellation.

You will have a meeting with a Clinical Nurse Specialist or Cosmetic Nurse Advisor to go through the surgery and discuss practical matters such as choosing implant sizes and costs. Following the session, you will be sent:

  • Information leaflets pertaining to the treatment
  • Pre- and post-operative care information
  • Informed Consent Form which details the possible risks and complications and terms and conditions of treatment.
  • Provisional cost

Your surgeon will also write to you with a summary of the consultation and details regarding the surgery. Should you decide to proceed with surgery, you will need to ring the team secretary at Kat & Co Aesthetics on 0121 456 7930 to identify a suitable date. A holding deposit of £500 is required to secure the chosen operating date. This deposit is non-refundable in the event of cancellation or postponement. The remaining balance is taken 7 days after booking. A Surgery Agreement form will be sent out to you by one of our secretaries. This form documents the terms and conditions of the surgery and your acceptance and also confirms that you have read and understood the consultation letter, the information leaflets and the Informed Consent Form. In order to confirm the surgery arrangements, you will need to return the following within 7 days:

  • Signed Surgery Agreement
  • Signed and initialled Informed Consent Form
  • Payment of deposit balance as indicated in the Surgery Agreement
  • Failure to do this will risk you losing the slot for your surgery.

If your surgery is at the hospital, the hospital will send you a separate information pack closer to the surgery date along with a pre-assessment appointment, if required. The hospital will also collect the remaining fees at least one week prior to surgery. Your admission time for surgery is only confirmed 24 hours prior to surgery date. Please ring us on 0121 456 7930 the day before surgery to find out your surgery time and fasting instructions. (Disregard the admission time given by the hospital in their information pack as it is not specific to you.)  

POST SURGERY On the day of discharge from hospital/clinic, you will be given an appointment for a change of dressings at the hospital/clinic (usually 1 week post surgery). At the dressings appointment, you will be given a folder containing details of your 3-month follow up appointment with your surgeon and pre surgery photographs. Please ring us as soon as possible if this appointment is not convenient.

BOOKING YOUR SURGERY

To have surgery at the clinic under twilight anaesthetic you must be fit and healthy, with no underlying health conditions. We require patients to be below 30 BMI for most surgeries, and below 27 BMI for abdominoplasty procedures. If you are unsure on the requirements for the surgery you are interested in, or whether you meet these requirements, please call the clinic on 0121 456 7930. These guidelines are set to ensure that elective surgery can be performed safely.

Having received your consultation letter and reviewed all relevant risks and complications, please contact the secretaries who will discuss a date for surgery with you.  

A Surgery Agreement form will be send out to you. This form documents the terms and conditions of the surgery and your acceptance and also confirms that you have read and understood the consultation letter, the information leaflets and the Informed Consent Form. In order to confirm the surgery arrangements, you will need to return the following within 7 days:

  • Signed Surgery Agreement
  • Signed and initiated Informed Consent Form
  • Payment of the deposit balance as indicated in the Surgery Agreement.
  • Failure to do this will risk you losing the slot for your surgery

If your surgery is at the hospital, the hospital will send you a hospital surgery pack closer to the treatment date along with the pre-assessment appointment if needed. The hospital will also collect the remaining fees about a week prior to surgery. Your admission time for surgery is only confirmed 24 hours prior to surgery date. Please ring us on 0121 456 7930 the day before surgery to find out your surgery time and fasting instructions. (Ignore the admission time given by the hospital in their information pack as it is not specific to you.)

PRE-SURGERY

You need to avoid aspirin, Ibuprofen, Neurofen and other similar painkillers 1 week before surgery. Paracetamol is the safest painkiller to take, if necessary, before surgery. You will be asked to stop smoking completely 4 weeks before and after surgery. This will help to minimise delayed wound healing and any post-operative complications from the general anaesthetic. It is also preferable to stop the contraceptive pill and HRT four weeks before surgery.

Some cosmetic procedures require an assessment and if this is necessary the hospital/clinic will make these arrangements for you.
This depends upon the time of your surgery. You will be given this information the day before your admission. Please call 0121 456 7930 if you require this information.
Your surgeon will see you and go through the details of your surgery again before you go to theatre. The anaesthetist will also visit you before surgery.

POST-SURGERY

You will need to contact the hospital where your surgery was performed or the secretaries on 0121 456 7930.
After surgery - if you have had a general anaesthetic - you will not be able to drive right away because you may still be affected by the anaesthetic. Generally, you should be able to resume driving again after one week -10 days, depending upon the type of surgery you have had.
You should be prepared to take one or two weeks off work.
During the first six weeks, care needs to be taken to avoid stretching the scars and only moderate activity is advisable. More specific advice will be provided for your surgery.
Generally, you will be able to fly after 2 weeks following your cosmetic surgery.

FINANCE

Should you decide to proceed with surgery, you will need to ring the team secretary at Kat & Co Aesthetics on 0121 456 7930 to identify a suitable date. A holding deposit of £500 is required to secure the chosen operating date. This deposit is non-refundable in the event of cancellation or postponement. The remaining balance will be taken 7 days after booking. A Surgery Agreement form will be send out to you by one of our secretaries. This form documents the terms and conditions of the surgery and your acceptance and also confirms that you have read and understood the consultation letter, the information leaflets and the Informed Consent Form. In order to confirm the surgery arrangements, you will need to return the following within 7 days:

  • Signed Surgery Agreement
  • Signed and initiated Informed Consent Form
  • Payment of the deposit balance as indicated in the Surgery Agreement.
  • Failure to do this will risk you losing the slot for your surgery

If your surgery is at the hospital, the hospital will send you a separate hospital surgery pack closer to the treatment date along with the pre-assessment appointment if needed. The hospital will also collect the remaining fees at least 1 week prior to surgery. This can be in the form of a cheque, credit card or cash.

Yes it is. Information regarding this can be obtained directly from the following:

 

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (www.baaps.org.uk) is first to announce the implementation of a scheme for patients to be protected through insurance. The only aesthetic surgical society to conduct a yearly audit of the procedures performed by its members, BAAPS was able to work with the world’s leading specialist insurance market, Lloyd’s of London, to create a policy that will safeguard all patients of surgeons who are part of the Association. The ‘Commitment Plus' policy (www.asurgecommitment.com) covers corrective treatment of all the most common complications of surgery. No procedure is risk-free and 'Commitment Plus' covers all common complications, so people undergoing surgery with BAAPS members can enjoy peace of mind that they will be looked after, in the unlikely event of any problems. The surgical procedures covered are :

  • Abdominoplasty
  • Blepharoplasty
  • Brachioplasty
  • Breast Augmentation
  • Calf Augmentation
  • Cheek Augmentation
  • Chin Augmentation/reduction
  • Facelift
  • Fat Grafting
  • Gluteoplasty
  • Buttock Implants
  • Gynecomastia
  • Liposuction
  • Labiaplasty
  • Mammoplasty/Mastopexy
  • Male Pectoral Implants
  • Otoplasty
  • Rhinoplasty
  • Thighlift

Click here to read more - https://www.baapscommitmentplus.org.uk/. The policy automatically activates on the twenty-ninth day after the op and remains live for two years, as during that initial period hospitals would cover any complications. Pricing starts at £50 for procedures up to the value of £2,000 and cover on a sliding scale is available for surgery worth up to £12,000. Higher cover can be quoted for.

INFORMED CONSENT FORMS

COMPLAINTS POLICY

Kat & Co aims to provide all Patients with the highest standards of care and customer service. If we fail to achieve this, we listen carefully and respond to complaints swiftly, acknowledging any mistakes and rectifying them so that we can make improvements to our service. The full complaints policy is made available to Patients, their affected relative or a representative when they first raise concerns about any aspect of the service they have received.

There will be 3 stages to the clinic's complaints process: - 

• Stage 1 – Local resolution; 

• Stage 2 – Internal appeal;

 • Stage 3 – Independent external review.

 

Stage 1 - Local Resolution

1. All complaints should be raised directly with the Clinic Manager in the first instance and should normally be made as soon as possible / within 6 months of the date of the event complained about, or as soon as the matter first came to the attention of the complainant.

2. The Patient will be given a copy of our complaints procedure and invited to attend a face to face meeting with the Clinic Manager and other relevant parties to talk through their concerns and to try and resolve the issue at an early stage.

3. The Clinic Manager will go through a thorough process of investigation to include reviewing the case in detail and taking statements from all staff members / doctors concerned. The Clinic Manager responds directly to the person who has made the complaint, whether the complaint was made verbally, by letter, text or email.

4. To make a formal complaint the complainant should write or e-mail the Clinic Manager clearly stating the nature of their complaint and as much detail concerning dates, times and if known names of staff members. This will enable us to acknowledge and address the issues raised promptly and effectively

5. The Clinic Manager will acknowledge receipt of a written complaint, to the complainant’s postal address provided (or via email) within 3 working days of receipt.

6. The Clinic Manager or their designated person will investigate all complaints.  Where the Clinic Manager is unclear on any point or issue regarding the complaint, the complainant will be contacted to seek clarification. 

7. A full response to the complaint will usually be made within 20 working days or, where the investigation is still in progress, send a letter explaining the reason for the delay to the complainant, at a minimum, every 20 working days. The aim should be to complete stage 1 in most cases within three months. 

8. In the event that the complainant is dissatisfied with the response to their complaint they can escalate their complaint to Stage 2, and must do so in writing, within 6 months of the final response to their complaint at Stage 1. 

Stage 2 - Complaint Review

1. If the complainant escalates their complaint to Stage 2, the Clinic Manager will provide a written acknowledgement to complainants within 3 working days of receipt of their complaint at stage 2.

2. The Clinic Manager will have arrangements in place by which to conduct an objective review of the complaint. Normally this will involve a senior member of staff who has not been involved in handling of the complaint at stage 1. 

3. Stage 2 shall involve a review of all the documentation and may include interviews with relevant staff. The records made as part of the stage 2 review should be complete and retained since these may be required for a stage 3 process.

4. Provide a review of the investigation and the response made at stage 1.

5. Invite the staff or team that responded at stage 1 to make a further response, where there is an opportunity to resolve the complaint by taking a further look at a specific matter. The complainant should be kept informed where this happens.

6. Consider whether the review at stage 2 would be supported by facilitating a face-to-face meeting (or teleconference, where acceptable) between the complainant and those who responded to the complaint at stage 1. 

7. Provide a full response on the outcome of the review within 20 working days or, where the investigation is still in progress, send a letter explaining the reason for the delay to the complainant, at a minimum, every 20 working days.

8. The aim should be to complete the review at stage 2 in most cases within three months.

9. In the event that the complainant is dissatisfied with the response to their complaint they may escalate their complaint to Stage 3. 

Stage 3 - Independent External Adjudication 

At Stage 3 complainants have the right to an independent external adjudication of their complaint. Requests for independent external adjudication should be made to The Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS), in writing, within 6 months of receipt of the Stage 2 decision letter.

Complainants cannot access Stage 3 until they have gone through Stages 1 and 2 and ISCAS will direct complainants back to Provider where appropriate. To access Stage 3, complainants are asked to sign a ‘Statement of Understanding and Consent’, thereby agreeing to the parameters of Stage 3. 

 Complainants will need to set out in writing for the Adjudicator:

(a) The reasons for the complaint

(b) What aspects of the complaint remain unresolved after Stages 1 and 2

(c) What outcome the complainant is seeking from Stage 3

 

ISCAS contact details are as follows:

By Post:

ISCAS

70 Fleet Street

London

EC4Y 1EU

 

Email: info@iscas.org.uk

Telephone: 020 7536 6091

Download Complaints Procedure Document

PATIENT GUIDE

Welcome to Kat & Co. Our clinic started life in 2008 as a single-surgeon practice, built around Mrs CC Kat’s predominantly hospital-centered busy cosmetic surgery work in the West Midlands. We are currently a multidisciplinary team offering a full spectrum of aesthetic medical and cosmetic surgical treatments, with surgeons complementing each other’s skill sets and special areas of interest. Our Day Surgery service has grown from strength to strength, with a wide range of surgical procedures, from simple excision to tummy tucks, being carried out under local anaesthesia, twilight anaesthesia (conscious sedation) and total intravenous anaesthesia. This guide covers some of our processes and terms and conditions. 

Download Patient Guide