GP 24/7 terms and conditions

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully as it contains important information on the scope of the services we provide on behalf of Benenden Health and how we deliver them. By using our services, you are deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please refrain from accessing or using our services.

By accessing our services, you are confirming that you are normally resident in the UK or Ireland and that you will provide us with your home address in addition to the address where you are located at the time of your consultation, if different.

These HealthHero Terms and Conditions should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.

The Privacy Policy contains important information on who we are and how and why we collect, store, use and share your personal information. It also explains your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us or supervisory authorities in the event you have a complaint.

Healthcare Provider Information

The healthcare provider in the UK is HealthHero Solutions Ltd, registered in England, Company No. 03766413.

HealthHero Solutions Ltd is regulated in England by the Care Quality Commission. See https://www.cqc.org.uk/provider/1-1837286653. To view our latest inspection summary, please see https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-4323884342.

We provide consultation services using clinicians who are all experienced and qualified healthcare professionals. They must be registered with their appropriate health professional registration body, e.g. the General Medical Council (GMC) for doctors, the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) for nurses and midwives, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) for pharmacists and the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) for other health and care professions, such as Speech and Language, Physiotherapy and Dietetics.

Service Limitations

You will only be entitled to receive the services we have agreed to provide on behalf of Benenden Health. For full details of the services available to you, please check with them.

The services provided by HealthHero are not a replacement for any regular health service(s) you are normally registered with, e.g., a General Practice.

Our clinicians will provide their professional services to you using due care, skill and ability. Unfortunately, not all presenting conditions can be assessed, diagnosed or treated remotely and this may only be established during your consultation with the clinician. Therefore, you may still need to see a healthcare professional face to face, or you may also be advised to contact the emergency services, if the clinician feels it is necessary.

You must not use our services for emergencies or urgent conditions, such as (but not limited to) those listed below, as this may delay necessary treatment.

If you believe that you are in an emergency or life-threatening situation you should contact your local Emergency Services immediately by dialling 999 or 112, especially if you, or someone:

has severe difficulty or are not breathing.

is having a heart attack or stroke.

has severe chest pain.

has severe abdominal pain.

has severe bleeding.

has lost consciousness.

is in an acute confused state and/or is having fits which aren’t stopping.

is in suicidal distress.

is experiencing an acute mental health crisis.

Our customer service team are not clinically trained, so if you contact us by telephone and the operator believes in good faith that the presenting symptoms or conditions indicate an emergency or life-threatening situation, they will advise you to contact your local emergency services immediately.

We will not clinically triage any presenting symptoms or conditions until the consultation with a health professional. Therefore, please be aware that any information disclosed to us in advance of a consultation, either electronically or by telephone is for information purposes only and will not be dealt with in advance of the consultation. This includes non-clinical information.

Our clinicians cannot provide the following:

Prescriptions for dispensing outside of the UK, Republic of Ireland or Spain. See Prescribing if you are outside of the UK for more details.
Repeat Prescriptions for any medications other than those listed below.
Treatment for Ongoing Conditions.
Specialist Referrals, letters or documents for any purposes other than those described in these terms and conditions. e.g. Private Medical Certificates or Fit Notes.
Assistance with initiating, verifying, or validating any insurance claims.
Referrals into NHS services.

Our Responsibilities

Our primary responsibility is to provide you with Safe and Effective Care.

If you are registered with an NHS GP in England the clinician may, where appropriate and with your consent, access your NHS patient information through the National Care Records Service (NCRS) to improve clinical decision making and healthcare outcomes.

In all other cases, the clinician will not have access to your full medical records and therefore any advice or treatment options given are based on information you provide during the consultation.

As an acute, episodic provider of healthcare we are not offering, nor seeking to provide, continuity of care. This care should be provided through the regular health service(s) you are normally registered with, or other healthcare providers to whom you may have been referred, or you have self-referred for treatment. One of our aims is to supplement the care provided by your regular health service(s), and we are careful not to replace this care.

Consequently, it is in your best interests to agree, if the clinician asks for permission to share information regarding the consultation with your regular health service provider, e.g., the GP Practice you are registered with. Should you not give us consent to share the information, the clinician may feel that it is not safe to proceed with any treatment or referral options discussed.

To ensure we are giving safe and effective care to you, we may, amongst other measures, monitor the clinical appropriateness and frequency with which you use our services. In exceptional circumstances, where we believe that seeking advice and treatment from our service might be interfering with, if not jeopardising, the care that you receive from specialists and other healthcare professionals, we may come to the reluctant conclusion that it is not in your best medical interests that we continue to provide our service to you. Where this is the case, we reserve the right to deny service to you.

Your Responsibilities

Whether you are the patient, or a responsible adult, it is your duty to ensure that any information you provide is honest, accurate and lawful. If you choose to withhold relevant information from the clinician it could affect the care they can give, and they may not be able to provide the full range of services that would otherwise be available to you.

For example, if you are seeking a prescription for the combined oral contraceptive pill, the clinician will require information such as your weight and blood pressure to be able to safely prescribe.

If you give incorrect or withhold relevant information to us which impacts upon a clinician’s decision to prescribe and you subsequently have an adverse reaction to such medication, neither the consulting clinician nor HealthHero can be held responsible.

There is no automatic right to treatment or a particular outcome in healthcare settings. Consequently, there may be occasions when we won’t be able to meet all your medical needs and where this is the case, we may need to refer you back to other health services or decline to provide treatment by not issuing a prescription for medication. We understand that this can be frustrating, but as a regulated healthcare provider, we are required to follow established policies and procedures to comply with the law and to ensure we provide you with safe and effective care.

The HealthHero team will treat you with dignity and respect and we ask you to afford them the same courtesy. We take a zero-tolerance approach to any rude, abusive, disrespectful, or inappropriate behaviour, in any form. Our team will terminate any electronic communications, calls, or consultations where any of the above is experienced and will report all instances to Benenden Health and, if required to do so by law, to the relevant law enforcement authorities.

Whether it concerns the care you have received or the administrative services we provide, we kindly ask that you allow our team to adhere to the policies and procedures we ask them to follow. Please do not unfairly or unreasonably pressure anyone, directly or indirectly, to deviate from these. We always act in the best interests of the patient, even if it means we cannot provide the desired service.

We reserve the right to deny service to individuals who demonstrate any of the above, or other unreasonable behaviours.

Children and Young Persons

If the patient is under 18 years old, an appointment can only be made by the parent, legal guardian, or carer of the child, unless they are over 16 and we are able to confirm with Benenden Health that they are entitled as a named beneficiary.

To provide service to a child, it is a condition that:

In all cases where a child is under 6 years of age, the details of their regular GP must be provided to us and a copy of the consultation notes will be sent to that GP.
If the child is in your direct care at the time of the consultation and you are not the parent or legal guardian, we may need, or be required by law, to ascertain parental authority to proceed with any treatment.

If you are not the parent or legal guardian and the child is not in your direct care at the time of the consultation, we cannot make an appointment for that child but will do so in your name and the consultation will be limited to providing non-specific, general advice only.

We reserve the right to refer or make disclosures to the appropriate authorities where we have concerns for the wellbeing of a child and that if doing so, it is in the best interests of that child whose welfare is paramount.

Adult Dependents and Patient Advocacy

To be able to make decisions on behalf of an adult who cannot make decisions for themselves, you will need to provide us with evidence of appointment as a Deputy by the Court of Protection (or the equivalent from Scotland or Northern Ireland), or an Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney. This must be provided to us before the consultation.

However, we do welcome adult patients being assisted by advocates or family members to help them book appointments, express their needs and wishes, and to make decisions about their options.

To avoid any misunderstanding, both the patient and their advocate must be present during any consultation. If the consulting clinician determines that the patient lacks the capacity to make decisions independently, then the clinician will be the sole decision-maker regarding what is in the best interests of the patient.

Pregnant Patients

We may not be able to provide full service if you suspect you may be or are pregnant. HealthHero has defined the duration of pregnancy to be from conception to 8 weeks post-delivery.

If you are pregnant and book a consultation, we will complete that consultation and the GP will use their professional judgement when assessing next steps.

HealthHero’s policy is that we should not provide medical advice or diagnosis for conditions that may be impacted or influenced by the fact you are pregnant. For the avoidance of doubt, and where this is the case, our policy is to signpost you back to your own GP or maternity care provider by default, as pregnancy impacts on many conditions for which a telemedicine service is not well suited to make a safe diagnosis or offer treatment, including advice.

It is also our policy that should you declare to us that you are pregnant or have had a positive pregnancy test, we will signpost you to a local GP or maternity care provider to arrange a ‘booking visit’ and antenatal care if you have not already done so.

Service Availability

The Telephone Consultation Service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; the Video Consultation Service is available from 8.00am to 10:00pm, UK time, 7 days a week, excluding Christmas Day*.

The service is not a replacement for your own GP. You may still need to see your own GP or contact the emergency services if the GP feels it is necessary.

Appointment Booking

Appointments can be booked by telephone or via the Benenden Health App. We will let you know available appointments based on the preferences you select when making your booking.

We will offer you appointment times, starting from the next available, up to 72 hours in advance.

We will offer you the choice of a male or female clinician, but you will not be able to request a named clinician. Please note that the gender of a clinician may not be the same as their sex that was assigned at birth.

The service is not designed to manage multiple health concerns in a single consultation. Whilst it is our policy that a consultation should reach its natural conclusion, you may have to book further appointments to address all your health needs if it is not possible to do so in one session. Please be considerate by understanding that clinicians will have other patients booked for consultation and, for this reason, cannot allow consultations to run past the allotted time where they involve multiple health concerns.

Fees

HealthHero provides its services under contract to Benenden Healthcare and as such, we will not charge you any fees for the contracted services

Preparing for your consultation

Please ensure that you are available for the clinician to contact you at the scheduled time of your consultation. The clinician will use reasonable endeavours to initiate the consultation within 15 minutes of your appointment time.

Occasionally, the clinician may be able to begin your consultation earlier than planned and will contact you by telephone to confirm if that is convenient. If not, they will commence the consultation as scheduled. Correspondingly, there may be occasions when the clinician is delayed because they are dealing with the acute needs of another patient. Where this is the case, and the clinician notifies our administration team, we will keep you informed, but our policy is to prioritise the care of the patient at the point of need. We hope all our service users will recognise the importance of this.

The clinician will attempt to contact you at least at least twice within the appointment window before closing the case and moving on to the next patient.
During your consultation, you must ensure you are somewhere private and be able to give the clinician your full attention.
You must not be driving, using machinery, or doing any activity which may put your, or other people’s safety at risk.
The clinician will terminate the consultation if they feel you are putting yourself or others at risk.

If you are currently taking medication, you should have the details to hand to share with the clinician

Sharing Images and Documents

Providing images or relevant documents can, where appropriate, help the consulting clinician to make a diagnosis. This can be done beforehand, or in real time during your consultation. When making a booking through the Benenden App, you can attach items directly.

Photographs of an intimate nature must not be sent to us unsolicited. Please do not send any images of areas of the body which would normally be covered by a bikini or swimming trunks unless you are specifically requested to do so by the clinician to inform the consultation.

If, during your consultation the clinician thinks it would be helpful, they may ask you to take some pictures and will provide you with instructions on how to upload them for review in real time. Where you are having a video consultation and the quality of the live image is good enough, the clinician may ask you to use your camera to identify the area of interest.

The quality of any images or other documents you send may not permit a diagnosis.

Images or documents sent to us are for the sole purpose of providing you with care and will be processed and stored in accordance with our Privacy Policy. They will form part of you consultation record, unless the clinician determines that it is not necessary, in which case they will be deleted.

Online Services

Appointments made online by the Benenden Health App will be confirmed in the Benenden Health App and by email.

The availability of our online services cannot be guaranteed as mobile data and internet connections are controlled by third parties with whom HealthHero has no direct relationship or contract.

If the content of any electronic communication you send to us is inappropriate and/or abusive we will take whatever action is appropriate, including reporting the incident to Benenden Healthcare and if required to do so by law, to the relevant law enforcement authorities. We do not tolerate any abuse of our staff in any form.

Video Services

Where all available video consultation appointments have already been booked on a given day, you will be offered one on the next day or the next available telephone appointment instead.

When a video appointment is confirmed, we will send you an email with a link to access the service and if you have booked via the Benenden Health App, you will be able to access the link from the App. Very occasionally, email systems can experience delays outside our control. If you have not received a confirmation email, you should contact us before the consultation is due to commence.

Should a video consultation not be possible for any reason, the clinician will initiate or attempt to continue your consultation over the telephone

Private Prescription Service

The clinician can offer you a private prescription if they feel that prescription medication is indicated.

Private prescriptions will only be raised:

At the sole discretion of the clinician.
During a telephone or video consultation.
If it is safe, clinically appropriate and in your best interests.
If it complies with our prescribing policy.

Some medications cannot be prescribed remotely by law, and the clinician will advise you if they are unable to do so. The clinician will review your previous HealthHero consultation history before deciding if it is safe to proceed with a prescription. If you are normally resident in England, the clinician may also request to view your NCRS health and care information.

In all cases, and if you are unable to satisfactorily answer the clinician’s questions, they may decline to issue a private prescription.

Controlled Drugs

The prescribing of controlled drugs is subject to strict controls, both in law and our prescribing policy. The clinician will advise you whether it is permissible to prescribe a particular medication.

In the UK, we are unable to prescribe any Schedule 1, 2 or 3 drugs.
It is HealthHero policy that you can only have one prescription for each of any permissible controlled drug in any rolling six-month period.
We do not prescribe any controlled medications for dispensing outside of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland.

Repeat Prescriptions

The service is not normally suitable for issuing repeat prescriptions because we are unable to provide you with continuity of care. However, there are some exceptions including, but not limited to:

The oral progestogen only contraceptive pill
Some forms of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
Where your NCRS health and care information is available to the clinician, and they feel it is appropriate to proceed.

Prescribing for Ongoing Conditions

The service is not suitable for patients presenting with ongoing conditions, including those that are long-term, who are seeking regular treatment for those conditions through the HealthHero service. Patients with some chronic illnesses such as depression, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and asthma will need to be seen regularly, under the direct care of a health professional, for monitoring of their condition and HealthHero clinicians are unable to do this.

However, where the clinician determines it is safe to do so, they may issue a bridging prescription, on one occasion only, of up to 4 weeks (28 days) supply of a prescription only medicine, to extend an existing treatment and enable you to make an appointment with your regular healthcare provider.

Prescription Fulfilment

Our clinicians can only issue private prescriptions, so please be aware that State funding or NHS exemptions do not apply, and any costs associated with fulfilment will be met by you.

HealthHero does not charge for issuing private prescriptions, but in choosing to have it fulfilled, you will be entering a contract with a pharmacy outside of the control of HealthHero. Fulfilling a private prescription is at the sole discretion of the dispensing pharmacist and HealthHero is not responsible for any refusal to dispense.

Regarding private prescriptions, it is HealthHero policy not to send prescriptions directly to patients. The clinician will offer you one, or more of the options below, depending on the territory in which you intend to have your prescription dispensed

Local Pharmacy Collection

If your prescription is to be dispensed in the UK, we will issue an electronic prescription using a service provided by our partner, SignatureRx, which can be dispensed at a UK pharmacy of your choice.

When SignatureRx receives your prescription, you will be contacted by text and/or e-mail with a unique identification code for you to present to your chosen pharmacy so they can access your prescription and dispense your medication.

All pharmacies in the UK should accept prescriptions delivered through SignatureRx. You can find the pharmacies nearest to you and who are already familiar with the SignatureRx service here: https://signaturerx.co.uk/patient-guide/

UK Medication Delivery Service

For patients in the UK, you will also be given the choice to have your prescription dispensed and delivered to you by SignatureRx. They will not charge you for processing the prescription, but you will be required to pay for the cost of the medication and delivery, and you are under no obligation to proceed.

Prescribing if you are outside of the UK

If you are normally resident in the UK, we can issue prescriptions for dispensing in Ireland and Spain.

If your prescription is to be dispensed in the Republic of Ireland, we will send the private prescription directly to your chosen pharmacy and advise you when it is ready for collection. If we must contact you after the consultation to obtain the details of your preferred pharmacy, this may delay dispensing.

Where your chosen Irish pharmacy does not have the prescription medication in stock, any subsequent reissuing of the prescription to a different pharmacy in Ireland or any amendment to prescribe an alternative medication will result in delays to dispensing, for which HealthHero cannot be held responsible.

A prescription issued for dispensing in Spain will be sent to you by email, in a digitally secure format. You must present this prescription to a pharmacy, acting as the intermediary between us and them, unaltered, following any specific instructions given to you by us.

The fulfilment of any prescription is at the sole discretion of the dispensing pharmacist and HealthHero is not responsible for any refusal to dispense, nor their fulfilment charges.

We are unable to issue prescriptions for dispensing in countries outside of these locations.

Private Medical Certificates or Fit Notes

If it is clinically appropriate, the clinician can issue a private medical certificate, often referred to as a ‘fit note’. These documents can only state that you are ‘unfit for work’. We cannot provide any medical documents stating that you are ‘fit for work’, or for any other purpose.

HealthHero does not charge for issuing these documents, but you will need to check with your employer to confirm that they will accept one.

Private medical certificates or fit notes cannot be used to access State funded sick pay or welfare benefits.

Documents will be securely emailed directly to you.

Hearing Impairment

If you have a hearing impairment, we recommend you book a video consultation which has the additional benefit of real time chat functionality.

If you are in the UK, are a user of the RelayUK system and wish to use it during your consultation, then please give us your TextNumber as your contact telephone number to allow us to automatically connect to the Relay UK service when we call it.

Your Text Number will be prefixed with 07777 if you are using the Relay UK app on a mobile, or 03306 when using a textphone or the Relay UK app on a computer or tablet from a landline.

If you are booking online and do not have a TextNumber but want us to call you using the RelayUK service, please prefix your telephone number with 18002.

Translation Service

HealthHero provides its healthcare services in English only.

In exceptional circumstances, we have access to a translation service provided by Language Line Limited for patients where English is not their first language.

You may not request a translator. Only HealthHero clinicians can initiate a request, and it is at HealthHero’s sole discretion as to whether we will provide you with a translator.

HealthHero reserves the right to refuse to provide a translator.
Where HealthHero agrees to provide a translator, a new consultation will need to be booked, and additional time may be needed.
When this service provided to you, it is only available as a Video consultation.
The interpreter is only present to facilitate communication during the consultation. They should not be asked to undertake any other duties during the consultation time.
Language Line will not retain any call transcripts, and your personal data will be processed in real time for the purposes of translating the call.

The interpreters are independent contractors and any translation given to you by an interpreter is the sole responsibility of the interpreter and may not be entirely accurate in all cases. In the circumstances, and to the extent permitted by law, we do not warrant or make any representation as to the interpretation by an interpreter and disclaim any liability for the acts or omissions of such interpreter.

Post Consultation Documentation

Following your consultation with a GP you may be issued with a copy of the consultation notes and if clinically appropriate, the following documentation:

Fit Note

The information contained in these documents is fully encrypted and will be made available to your device from the Benenden Health App or sent by email to the address you have provided. If you are accessing our services through the Benenden Health App, Benenden Health does not have access to the content of these documents. You should ensure that any device you use to access your post consultation notes is suitably protected from potential interception.

Concerns and Complaints

Should you wish to make a complaint or would like to raise a concern you can contact us directly on the telephone number you have been given to access the service or through Benenden Healthcare. You can also e-mail your concerns directly to our Patient Care Team at complaints.epc@healthhero.com.

Alternatively, you can also write to us:

The Complaints Manager
HealthHero Solutions Ltd
Inspired,
Easthampstead Road,
Bracknell,
RG12 1YQ

We will endeavour to acknowledge your complaint or concern as soon as it is received. We hope to be able to resolve it to your satisfaction within three working days of receipt, but if we are unable to do so, we will formally respond to you and follow our complaints procedure, which can be found here:

https://www.healthhero.com/Complaints-Procedure/

Limitation on Liability

Nothing herein excludes or limits our liability for:

death or personal injury caused by our negligence;
fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Nothing herein shall affect your statutory rights.

Except as may be expressly set out in these terms, all conditions, representations, and warranties relating to the services are excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law.

We shall not be liable for any defects or errors in the services, nor interruptions in or unavailability of the services, nor any breach of any obligations due to a cause beyond our reasonable control.

When using our services, except to the extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for:

any loss, damage or distress incurred by you arising from reliance on information or the availability of the services; or
any indirect, consequential, or economic loss, damage or distress incurred by you (including any such loss, damage or distress arising from unauthorised use of or damage to your data or content); or
any consequential loss, damage or distress incurred by you arising from where you have not provided us with a full and accurate medical history or where you withhold any relevant information; or
any loss, damage or distress arising from use or attempted use of the services for emergency or urgent conditions or any consequential delays to necessary treatment.

Our total liability to you in connection with the services whether under contract, tort, statute, common law or otherwise (and including for negligence or wilful default) shall not in any circumstances exceed GBP500,000.

Applicable Law

For the avoidance of doubt, the provision of our services from the UK shall be governed by and construed in accordance the laws of England and Wales and each of the Parties submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

The published timings are correct as of the date of last update stated below but may be subject to change.

Links checked and Terms and Conditions last updated on 3-Jun-25.