Frequently Asked Questions
What to expect at your first appointment?
You will be greeted by the therapist or reception staff and asked to fill in a simple form (unless you have brought this form with you already completed)
The therapist will take a full and thorough history including any relevant medical history. We will ask lots of questions about the problem including how it started, how your condition progressed, where you feel your pain/symptoms along with what aggravates and eases them.
We will then fully examine the area which for neck or shoulder problems will require you to undress to your waist and for hip or back problems will require you to undress to your underwear. This allows us to take a close look at the area involved and we will of course do our best to maintain your modesty at all times. We will then perform a series of movements and tests followed by the therapist using their hands to feel for any tenderness or abnormalities of the area.
We will always endeavour to give you a clear diagnosis and explain this in a way that is easily understood also explaining why we think you are getting the problem. We would encourage you at this time to ask as many questions as you like to fully understand your condition. For most conditions you will receive a printed leaflet of this including the treatment techniques involved and a specific exercise programme .
We will then explain our suggested treatment plan including what techniques we will use and what you can do yourself to help your condition. The first session will usually involve treatment unless the referring party have only authorised you to be assessed or your condition is particularly complicated in which case we may need to spend longer than usual on the examination.
How do I know if I need treatment?
If you are not sure whether we can help you please call and speak to our bookings team.
They have a very thorough understanding of what conditions we treat and how well we treat them.
If your condition is complex or unusual they will liaise directly with our therapists and get back to you.
They will also ask a therapist to call you directly if this is the best option. They will always give you an honest opinion and only encourage you to book in if they are very confident they can help you.
If they feel you need to see somebody else they will let you know this as integrity and our reputation is of the highest importance to us.
CLICK HERE to contact us
How do I book an appointment?
Just CLICK HERE for contact details to book an appointment
Is there a waiting list?
We do not have a waiting list as we guarantee that we can offer an appointment within 48 hours, usually within 24 hours and often on the same day.
We offer early morning and evening appointments and Saturdays at some locations.
Do I have to come via my GP?
How long are the appointments?
We offer 30 minute, 45 minute and 60 minute assessments so this very much depends on how complicated your presentation is and whether you want to ensure you definitely receive treatment at your first appointment.
If you have never seen us before we usually advise that you book at least 45 minutes for your first appointment.
All follow up sessions are 30 minutes.
What should I bring to the appointment?
To ensure you get the most out of your appointment we would strongly advise that you bring with you any of the below that are relevant.
- A list of any medical problems and the medications you take for each condition
- Any letters you have about your condition from medical professionals you have seen
- Any results from scans, X-rays or investigations regarding your condition
- Anything else you feel may help the therapist to give you the best service possible
What should I wear?
If it is your neck, shoulder or upper back we require you to undress to the waist.
If it is your lower back or hip we require you to undress to underwear/shorts.
We therefore advise that you ensure you wear clothing that you feel comfortable in but that allow us to fully view and assess the injured areas.
Are all your therapists fully qualified?
We can reassure you that all of our therapists are fully qualified and have been trained to the highest degree.
We ensure they all maintain membership of their regulatory body and keep up to date with the required continuous professional education.
We ensure we check this regularly and retain a copy of this for our records
Can I use my private medical insurance/ how do I go about using it?
How do I pay for the appointment?
We accept card payments.
We also accept most private medical insurance policies
What is the cancellation policy?
If you needed to cancel or rearrange any appointment, we require a minimum of 24 hours notice.
If you need to cancel outside of office hours please leave a message on our answerphone.
How do I get directions to your clinics?
Complaint and Compliment Policy
Our Aims
Metro Health & Wellbeing aims to provide an open, accountable and efficient service to all our customers. Whilst every effort is taken sometimes mistakes are made. A complaint process has been set up for people who feel dissatisfied about the service or treatment they receive. You have a right to complain and to have it investigated. We aim to learn from any mistakes and the complaints procedure is seen as very important in this continuous programme of improvement. We can also learn from compliments and this is therefore contained within this policy.
How to Make a Complaint
The first step is to raise your complaint with any member of Metro Health & Wellbeing. If the matter is not resolved, then please ask for the complaint to be passed to a member of the management team. A member of the management team will then contact you within 48 hours and work with you to resolve the matter. If following this, you are not satisfied then please ask for the complaint to be passed to the Clinic Director who will investigate the matter and ensure a response is made within 48 hours.
What to tell us when making a complaint
To deal with your complaint appropriately we need to know:
- Your name, address and contact details
- What you are complaining about
- The names of the people involved where applicable
- Your ideas on how you wish to see the issue resolved
What you can expect
We would hope that wherever possible your concerns would be resolved at the first point of contact. If a formal complaint is made you will receive an acknowledgment within 48 hours of the receipt of your complaint. The complaint will be investigated and you will normally receive a full response within 5 working days, unless your complaint is particularly complex in which case we will advise you and provide an estimated timescale as to when you should expect to receive a response.
Compliments
If a patient provides praise about any of Metro Health and Wellbeing’s services this feedback will be sent to the individual and their manager, exceptional praise is sent to all member of Metro Health & Wellbeing with congratulations attached to it from a member of the senior management team. The praise is also reviewed to see if any part of the praise identifies anything that could be used as a model for improvement that the whole company can adopt.
What Action You Can Expect us to Take
Should we fall short of what is expected an evaluation process will take place to identify the causes for concern enabling strategies to be put in place to rectify the problem and prevent or eliminate further recurrences.
Informal Non Serious Complaints
Will be dealt with in a sensitive manner by the relevant person and any areas of support or training required will be arranged.
Formal or Informal Serious Complaints
A meeting will be held to listen to the interpretation of events and from this it can be decided if further disciplinary action is required. If a system has failed, this will be reviewed with the assistance of the Operations Manager and / or Clinic Director and recommendations for improvement will be put forward and then implemented.
Where to Send Your Complaint or Compliment
Telephone 0161 745 7551 or 0151 515 2323
Email info@metrophysio.co.uk
Address Stockport Physio, The Crescent Consulting Rooms, 30 The Crescent, Salford, Manchester, M5 4PF