Booking an appointment

Ready to make an appointment?

Do I need to be referred for treatment? Hide

No, anyone can have an appointment. You only need to be referred if you are using your medical insurance to fund the treatment. If you are paying personally, you can self-refer.

What happens if I have private medical insurance? Hide

Most insurance companies will request a referral to one of our specialists, either from your GP or another doctor. Once this has been done, you can book an appointment with us providing your medical insurance details and all treatment will be covered. Please check with your insurer in the first instance.

How do I book an appointment? Hide

To make an appointment please choose from one of the numbers below depending on which centre you would like to visit. If you have private medical insurance, please make sure you have your policy number and an authorisation code for treatment when making your appointment.

Barbican, London - 020 7200 2700*
Canary Wharf, London - 020 7302 2720*
Gough Square, London - 020 7599 5500*
West End, London - 0207 506 2770*
Reading - 0118 906 2800*
Bristol - 0117 912 2900*
Solihull - 0121 711 6400*
Leeds - 0113 381 5400*
Glasgow - 0141 800 4000*

What are your opening hours? Hide

Our opening hours vary in each centre, but appointments are usually available on weekdays from 8.30am to 5.30 pm. Evening consultations may also be available at some centres. Please ask for details.

What happens if I need to change or cancel my appointment? Hide

If you need to change or cancel your appointment, please call us with at least one working day’s notice. If you cancel later than this you will incur a cost.

For physiotherapy, osteopathy and podiatry you will be charged 100 percent of the fee if you fail to attend or cancel with less than 24 hours notice.

For sports medicine & orthopaedic doctors and surgeons you will be charged 100 percent of the fee if you fail to attend or cancel with less than 24 hours notice. If you cancel your appointment with 72 to 24 hours notice you will be charged 50 percent.

About your appointment

What do I wear? Hide: You may need to undress to your underwear so that your doctor can examine you. Wear underwear that you will feel comfortable in – you can wear shorts if this will make you feel more at ease.
How long will the treatments last? Hide: Your first appointment is likely to last about 45 minutes. Any follow-up sessions are usually about 30 minutes.
What do I need to bring on my first visit? Hide: If you have had any tests such as an X-ray or MRI scan, bring the results of these and any other letters that your doctor may have sent you. If you are taking any medicines, bring these as well.
Do you communicate with my doctor? Hide: If you have been referred by your GP, and provided you are happy for us to do so, he or she will be sent a letter with an update on your progress. If you made the appointment without being referred and you would like us to notify your GP, we will be happy to do this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be a Bupa member to use your service? Hide

No, anyone can use our services.

What qualifications do our clinicians have? Hide

The Bupa Sports Medicine musculoskeletal team is made up of some of the most experienced specialists in the UK, including those who work for the Great Britain’s Olympic teams and a number of professional sports disciplines including rugby, football, cricket and UK athletics. This means that all our specialists (and customers) benefit from the knowledge, experience and guidance of this expetise.

All Bupa Sports Medicine physiotherapists are musculoskeletal specialists with a minimum of five years experience, many with postgraduate specialist qualifications and experience in occupational health, manipulation, biomechanics and sports injuries.

Will it hurt? Hide

You may be worried that your treatment will hurt and cause more pain than you already have. We are very aware of the importance of limiting the amount of pain and discomfort that you are experiencing. You may experience some treatment soreness, but this is usually short-term and settles. If discomfort is excessive your treatment will be altered accordingly.

Can physiotherapists manipulate? Hide

Yes, chartered physiotherapists with the appropriate postgraduate training are qualified to manipulate.

How many treatments will I need? Hide

There is no pre-determined number of treatments for a specific condition. However following your initial assessment, your physiotherapist will discuss and agree a treatment plan with you. This may include advice regarding the approximate number of treatments you need. However, it’s important to bear in mind that each person responds to treatment differently.

What provision do you have for disabled customers? Hide

All customers are welcome to attend any of our Bupa Centres. Please let us know of any disability at the time of booking so that special arrangements and/or an extended appointment can be made for you. For customers with restricted mobility we will need to give additional instructions regarding parking or access to the building. Customers with other difficulties such as communication problems should, where possible, arrange for a friend, relative or other assistant to accompany them, for example, an interpreter or signer.

Bupa Centres providing physiotherapy and sports medicine services do not have specialised equipment such as hoists.

Statement of confidentiality Hide

The first time that you contact us, we will ask you to provide some personal details and open a confidential medical file for all your records. These are subject to the same strict rules of confidentiality that you would expect of any medical records. No information will be passed to any third party without your consent.

What do I do if something goes wrong? Hide

We are always pleased to hear about aspects of our service that you have particularly appreciated. We also want to hear about any problems you have experienced so that we can deal with them and improve our service for the future.

If you have a complaint about any aspect of our service, we would like to address this straightaway. If possible, please speak to a member of staff at the centre. All centres have a complaints handler who has had specific training. Or you may prefer to talk to the centre manager.

If we cannot satisfactorily resolve your concerns there and then, you wish to make a complaint by telephone or in writing. Please call or write to the centre manager. Our address is as follows:

Bupa Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine
Battle Bridge House
300 Gray’s Inn Road
London
WC1X 8DU

View the locations of our centres

We will aim to give you a written acknowledgement of your complaint within one working day of receipt. A full response will be made within 20 working days. All complaints are dealt with confidentially and impartially.

If required, your complaint will be referred to the regional manager and may be escalated to the managing director.

We keep a record of every complaint and look at how many we receive and the reasons why. We use this information along with our customer surveys to help make sure we continually improve the service we provide.

This procedure does not affect your legal rights.

What quality controls do you have in place? Hide

Clinical governance
Clinical governance is "a framework through which the organisations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in which excellence of clinical care will flourish".¹

It requires that as an organisation we have:

quality improvement activity eg, audit
a process for monitoring
internal and external reviews
clear policies to manage risk
clinical incidents reporting
a clear complaints handling policy
management and reporting of poor performance

Care Quality Commission
This organisation requires that all our procedures and policies place the client as the most important stakeholder, and that we ensure client safety at all times through clear policies and procedures.

Bupa Centres are regulated and inspected a minimum of once a year by the National Care Standards Commission. A copy of the latest inspection report is available from:

Care Quality Commission
National Correspondence
Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4PA

ISO accreditation
We currently operate under the guidelines of the ISO9001:2000 quality management system. As part of this, we operate a stringent clinical standards policy with full internal audit of all procedures. All non-clinical staff also undergo regular appraisal through the Bupa Positive Performance Management process.

1. Source: BMJ 1998; 317 : 61 (Published 4 July 1998)

Next steps

Book your initial assessment

Call us on 0845 600 4778* for more information or to make a booking.
Where to find us

Find you nearest Bupa centre offering physiotherapy services including the Bupa Run Check
Health Information

View our health hub for more information on muscles, bones and joints.