TERMS OF BUSINESS
This website is owned and managed by NISHTHA PATEL, THE GUT EXPERT (“The Gut Expert”, “us”, “we”, “our”).
These Terms and Conditions apply to any and all users of our website.
By accessing and using this website or our social media platforms (collectively “Website”) and/or by engaging us to provide you with our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”). If you do not agree to be legally bound by these Terms, you may not access or use our Website for the purposes of accessing our services.
These Terms relate to the services provided by Nishtha Patel, The Gut Expert, a registered nutritional therapist and a fully certified Functional Medicine practitioner.
These Terms must be read in conjunction with our Privacy Notice which is available on our Website. We are committed to ensuring the security and privacy of your information and our Terms and Privacy Notice explain in more detail the categories of information we collect from you, the purposes for and the manner in which the information is processed and used.
1 Contractual Relation
1.1 These Terms constitute a contractual relationship between The Gut Expert and yourself.
1.2 For the purposes of these Terms, The Gut Expert and the client shall collectively be referred to as “the Parties” and individually as “a Party”.
1.3 The Parties agree to be bound by these Terms for the purposes of the supply of services by The Gut Expert.
2 Our Services
2.1 The Gut Expert is an integrated health and nutrition therapy clinic that provides one-to-one consultations, online as well as in-person, through the expertise of Mrs. Nishtha Patel, a registered nutritional therapist and a fully certified Functional Medicine practitioner.
2.2 The scope of services (“Services”) is focused on helping clients overcome health issues, particularly those related to the gut, through the use of integrated Functional Medicine and Nutritional Therapy. Our Services in particular include, without limitation:
i) Full analysis of a client’s health history, including factors such as family history
ii) Assessment of a client’s nutritional status, diet and lifestyle
iii) Analysis of any symptoms or health issues that the client is currently suffering from
iv) Review of any medication/supplements used or being used by the client
v) Devising a personalised nutrition and lifestyle program in line with the client’s goals
vi) Undertaking certain functional tests such as vitamin and mineral analysis, comprehensive stool analysis, genetic tests, blood tests and/or tests to help identify nutritional imbalances, food intolerances, organic acids, hormone levels, food/ gluten intolerances or sensitivities and/or the presence of any underlying conditions
2.3 Please note that our Services can be used by independent adults who are 18 [eighteen] years of age and above.
2.4 Our Services cannot be used by those who are below 18 [eighteen] years of age (“Minors”) unless our Services are sought by the Minor’s parents/legal guardians for the benefit of such Minors.
2.5 We do not provide any emergency services of care for acute medical conditions or where medical treatment or diagnosis by a qualified physician or medical/healthcare expert are needed.
2.6 We do not, under normal circumstances prescribe any controlled or off-license medication.
2.7 Please note that our consultations do not involve physical examinations. It is therefore crucial that you provide us with accurate, complete and all relevant information, reports, diagnoses, if any and any medical history relating to you (“Your Records”). We do not assume any liability for therapy suggested/ nutritional programs designed on the basis of inaccurate or incomplete information relating to Your Records.
2.8 Our Services are in no way intended or designed to replace the services of your NHS [National Health Service] care provider, private General Practitioner (“GP”), hospital and/or any other qualified medical expert/physician or consultant.
2.9 You agree that the Services provided by The Gut Expert are only supplementary to any medical advice and/or treatment that you are receiving or should receive from your NHS care provider, private GP, hospital and/or any other qualified medical expert/physician or consultant and that our Services do not replace, substitute or in any way supersede the above.
2.10 If you were/are on medication or on a course of treatment prescribed by your NHS care provider, private GP, hospital and/or any other qualified medical expert, you agree to inform them about the Services and consultations you are receiving from us.
2.11 Your use of our Services will be subject to these Terms and shall be construed as your consent to be legally bound by them.
3 Booking a consultation
3.1 A consultation can be booked online by filling out an enquiry form available on our Website at https://www.thegutexpert.com/contact
3.2 Online consultations are available to clients in the UK and overseas. Please note that all overseas clients will be bound by these Terms as well as our Privacy Policy, which is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”), the UK GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.
3.3 In addition to online bookings, appointments are also taken at partner clinics in the UK, the details of which are available on our Website.
4 Data Collected
4.1 All information collected and supplied by you to The Gut Expert will be treated as confidential and only processed to provide the Services or as described in this section and in our Privacy Policy. Please take the time to read these as they are integrated into these Terms and include important terms that apply to the collection, storage and use of your Personal Data.
4.2 For the purposes of Data Protection Laws the data controller is The Gut Expert.
4.3 The primary purpose for which The Gut Expert will collect and use your Personal Data is to provide our Services to you and/or for the conduct of our operations. In addition, your Personal Data, or, where you are unable to access our Services directly by reason of being a Minor or by reason of being a person who is physically and/or mentally incapable of doing so, the Personal Data of your legal guardian/ caregiver/emergency contact will be collected and used for the purposes of due diligence and identity verification.
4.4 Our Privacy Policy outlines the details of the Personal Data we need to collect for due diligence and the identity verification of the legal guardians and/or emergency contacts who approach us for the benefit of clients who are Minors and/or who are physically and/or mentally incapacitated and therefore not able to use our Services directly.
4.5 The Gut Expert may make audio and video recordings of your sessions and/or appointments with us (“Appointment”) for clinical governance purposes. We assure you that all such Personal Data will be treated as confidential and will be held strictly in accordance with, and as long as required, under Data Protection Laws and our internal policies and procedures.
4.6 Whilst The Gut Expert encourages you to inform your NHS care provider/ GP/ any other qualified physician or medical expert of any health concerns you may have discussed with us, we will not share information with your NHS care provider/ GP/ any other qualified physician/medical expert unless we have your express written permission to do so or where there is an overriding public interest in disclosing the information without your consent. This is in accordance with the General Medical Council's guidance which may from time-to-time change.
4.7 We may share aggregated anonymised data with third parties in order to monitor our Services and to ensure consistent quality and safety relating to the Services provided to clients.
4.8 The Gut Expert will generally share your information/Personal Data with persons nominated as your ‘Emergency Contact’, unless you have expressly asked us not to do so, or where an ‘Emergency contact’ has not been nominated, with the next of kin, particularly in cases of emergencies and where the interests (health) of the client over-ride our obligation of confidentiality. For such circumstances it shall be deemed that the client has consented to their information being shared with the Emergency Contact or next of kin. You can also name other people, with whom you would like us to share information about you, in which case we will carry out a due diligence on such persons and request them to submit relevant personal information for the purposes of the due diligence. We make best efforts to ensure that information provided to third parties, over the telephone or otherwise is restricted to those you have named, and we share this information on a need-to-know basis only and subject to a satisfactory due diligence. Sometimes this means refusing to disclose information about you to someone who feels they should know about your treatment and progress. Please make your family and friends aware of this. For the purposes of our Privacy Policy and these Terms “need to know basis” means that the recipient shall be given such information about you only if to do so is in your best interests and particularly where your health and safety over-ride our obligation of confidentiality.
4.9 For the purposes of these Terms and our Privacy Policy:
i) “Data Protection Laws” shall refer to the UK GDPR, the UK Data Protection Act 1998, the GDPR and any/other data protection legislation that applies to The Gut Expert.
ii) “Personal Data” shall have the meaning given to it under the GDPR.
5 Payment and Terms of Payment
5.1 Our fee for consultations and follow-up sessions are displayed on our website.
5.2 All consultations and follow-up sessions must be paid for prior to the appointment.
5.3 Payments may be made online or via a bank transfer, the details of which will be shared with you when you book a consultation with us.
5.4 Payments may be made online using the STRIPE payments platform. Please note that STRIPE is a third-party payment platform that we use only for the purposes of receiving and processing payments. We encourage you to read STRIPE’s terms and privacy policy available at https://stripe.com/en-gb/privacy. In addition, please note that STRIPE is the registered proprietor of its Trade Mark and of the Intellectual Property Rights to its website and any content published thereon. The Gut Expert claims no rights of ownership to the Intellectual Property relating to any third-party website and/or any content displayed or published on such websites.
5.5 Corresponding receipts relating to payments made by you will be generated and emailed to you for your records.
6 Rescheduling or cancellation of appointments
6.1 For the purposes of rescheduling or cancelling an appointment a minimum of 72 hours’ notice must be given to us, i.e., all requests for rescheduling or cancelling an appointment must be made at-least 72 hours prior to the original appointment.
6.2 Should you have requested that your appointment be rescheduled, we will offer you a new appointment, subject to our availability, and the fee paid towards your original appointment will be deemed paid towards the rescheduled appointment, provided that the request for rescheduling the appointment was made at-least 72 hours prior to the original appointment.
6.3 Should you have requested that your appointment be cancelled we will provide a full refund of your consultation fee, provided that the request for cancellation was made at-least 72 hours prior to the original appointment.
6.4 We will not be able to accommodate requests for cancellation or rescheduling of an appointment where such requests are made less than 72 hours prior to the original appointment. Therefore, no refund of fees, whether partial or full will be issued in such cases.
6.5 If a refund is due, The Gut Expert will make the refund to you using the same method used by you to purchase the appointment, unless agreed otherwise.
7 Referrals
7.1 Subject to your consent The Gut Expert can suggest or provide referrals to specialists where clinically appropriate and suitable. The Gut Expert will always make best efforts to ensure that the most appropriate referral and recommendation is made where necessary.
7.2 Our referrals may not specify a named individual consultant but are made on an 'open referral’ basis specifying the appropriate medical specialty.
7.3 Any referrals made by us will be to serve our clients’ best interests and to prioritise our clients’ health.
8 Diagnostic tests
8.1 The Gut Expert may make recommendations of third-party providers (“ Test Provider(s)”) for private investigations and functional tests such as vitamin and mineral analysis, comprehensive stool analysis, genetic tests, blood tests and/or tests to help identify nutritional imbalances, food intolerances, organic acids, hormone levels, food/ gluten intolerances or sensitivities and/or the presence of any underlying conditions. You acknowledge that these are recommendations only and that you may at your sole discretion choose a Test Provider to conduct the prescribed tests (“Tests”). You acknowledge that you are solely responsible for arranging, undertaking and paying for such Tests. The processing time of Tests may vary according to the Test Provider used by you and we cannot influence this directly. We cannot guarantee the availability of services from Test Providers and shall therefore not be liable for any acts or omissions of the Test Providers.
8.2 By requesting a referral to a Test Provider, you authorise The Gut Expert to share your basic identification data with the selected Test Provider for the purposes of verifying your identification on arrival for your referral appointment. We will take all reasonable steps to protect your Personal Data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
9 Follow-ups
9.1 Follow-up sessions may be suggested on a case-by-case basis. We will recommend and encourage such number of follow-up sessions as we deem necessary to bring you closer to your health-related goals.
9.2 We can only make recommendations in relation to follow-up sessions. However, booking a follow-up consultation lies at your sole discretion.
9.3 Should you wish to book a follow-up appointment, you can do so by following the same procedure that was followed for making your previous appointment(s) with us.
10 Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
10.1 Disclaimer- Our website does not provide medical advice and our Services are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.
10.1.1 The contents of our Website such as text, graphics, statistics, images, blogs and any other content made available through our Website (“the Content”) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
10.1.2 Our Services do not constitute professional medical advice and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Our Services can only be supplementary to any professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment that you may need to seek. We always encourage you to seek the advice of your NHS care provider, GP or any other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
The Gut Expert therefore assumes no liability if users of the website rely on informative articles and/or Content published and made available on our Website.
10.2 Limitation of Liability
10.2.1 THE GUT EXPERT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT OUR SERVICES, INFORMATION, CONTENT OR OTHER SERVICES INCLUDED ON OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH THE GUT EXPERT’S SERVICES, SERVERS OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION SENT BY US ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF OUR SERVICES, OR FROM ANY INFORMATION OR CONTENT AND/OR SERVICES, INCLUDED ON OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAIALBLE TO YOU THROUGH THE GUT EXPERT’S WEBSITE OR SERVICES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED IN WRITING.
10.2.2 THE GUT EXPERT WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DELAYS OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL. IF OUR SUPPLY OF THE SERVICE IS DELAYED BY AN EVENT OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL SUCH AS A FORCE MAJEURE EVENT, THEN WE WILL CONTACT YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO LET YOU KNOW AND WE WILL TAKE STEPS TO MINIMISE THE EFFECT OF THE DELAY. PROVIDED WE DO THIS WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DELAYS CAUSED BY THE EVENT, BUT IF THERE IS A RISK OF SUBSTANTIAL DELAY YOU MAY CONTACT US TO END THE SUPPLY OF SERVICE TO YOU OR TO CANCEL AN APPOINTMENT AND RECEIVE A REFUND FOR ANY APPOINTMENTS YOU HAVE PAID FOR BUT NOT RECEIVED.
10.2.3 OUR CLIENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO USE OUR THERAPY PROGRAMS FOR THE TREATMENT OF THIRD PARTIES. SHOULD YOU USE THE THERAPY POROGRAM PRESCRIBED TO YOU BY THE GUT EXPERT, FOR THE TREATMENT OF THIRD PARTIES WE WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF. ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED TO YOU AS PART OF OUR THERAPY PROGRAM IS UNIQUE TO YOU AND THE SAME THERAPY MAY NOT WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE. THEREFORE, SHOULD YOU PRESCRIBE OUR THERAPY TO THIRD PARTIES WE SHALL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES THEREOF.
11 Intellectual Property
11.1 Please note that all the therapy programs designed by The Gut Expert and all the content relating to it as well as all the Trade Marks, logos and Content published on The Gut Expert Website is the sole and exclusive property of The Gut Expert.
11.2 Users of the Website may refer to the Content for reference and information purposes only. However, users are not permitted to reproduce, publish, distribute or communicate to the public our Content. Doing the above-mentioned acts without our express consent will constitute a violation of our Intellectual Property Rights, entitling us to seek remedies available at law and equity.
11.3 You agree that we own all Intellectual Property Rights to the information provided to you through our therapy programs and you shall not reproduce, publish, distribute or communicate the therapy programs and/or content relating to it to third-parties. Doing the above-mentioned acts without our express consent will constitute a violation of our Intellectual Property Rights, entitling us to seek remedies available at law and equity.
12 Confidential information
12.1 The Parties hereby acknowledge that during the course of a therapy program/consultation/appointment or during the course of a dealing, the Parties may be given access to each other’s Confidential Information and data relating to each other or each other’s businesses. For the purposes of these Terms, “Confidential Information” shall mean any information relating to a Party that has been designated by the Party to whom the information belongs (“Owning Party”) as “confidential”, whether verbally or in writing or which the receiving Party (“Receiving Party”) ought to have known is confidential in light of the fact that the information is not in the public domain and that the confidential nature of such information gives the Owning Party a competitive advantage in the market. Confidential Information shall include, without limitation, creative content, announcements not yet in the public domain, projects in the pipeline, contracts, research development, product plans, products, services, diagrams, formulae, processes, techniques, technology, firmware, software, know-how, designs, ideas, discoveries, inventions, improvements, copyright, Trade Marks, trade secrets, customers’ lists, suppliers’ lists, markets, marketing strategies, finances disclosed either directly or indirectly in writing, orally or visually by the Owning Party.
Confidential Information does not include information which:
(i) Is or comes into the public domain without the breach of these Terms by the Receiving Party
(ii) Was in the possession of the Receiving Party prior to the receipt of such information by it from the Owning Party or information that was not acquired by the Receiving Party from the Owning Party under an obligation of confidentiality or non-use
(iii) Is acquired by the Receiving Party from a third party not under any obligation of confidentiality or non-use to the Owning Party
(iv) developed independently by either of the Parties.
12.2 Obligations of Non-Disclosure and Non-Use
Unless otherwise agreed to in advance and in writing by the Owning Party, the Receiving Party will not, except as required by law or under a court order, use the Confidential Information for any purpose other than for the purposes of this Agreement. In addition, neither Party will disclose the Confidential Information belonging to the Owning Party to any third party nor use it for the benefit of themselves or of any third party.
The Gut Expert may disclose the client’s Confidential Information to its employees, independent contractors, free-lancers, consultants, partners or co-workers (as applicable) on a “need to know basis” only which means that The Gut Expert may disclose the Confidential Information only to those of its employees, independent contractors, freelancers, consultants, partners or co-workers who need to know such information for the performance of Services and/or for the conduct of our business.
13 Force Majeure
13.1 Force Majeure means any event or combination of events or circumstances beyond the control of a Party which cannot:
(a) by the exercise of reasonable diligence, or
(b) despite the adoption of reasonable precaution and/or alternative measures be prevented, or caused to be prevented, and which materially and adversely affects a Party's ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement.
A Force Majeure event shall include without limitation acts of God, fire, storm, flood, earthquake, explosion, accident, acts of the public enemy, war, rebellion, insurrection, sabotage, epidemic, pandemic, quarantine restrictions, lockdown, government sanctions, labour dispute, labour shortage, power shortage, shortage of raw material, lack of access to any equipment or materials, ceasing to be entitled to access the internet for whatever reason, server crashes, deletion, corruption, loss or removal of data, transportation embargo, failure or delay in transportation, any act or omission (including laws, regulations, disapprovals or failures to approve) of any government or government agency and/or any other analogous event.
13.2 If The Gut Expert is wholly or partially precluded from complying with its obligations under these Terms and Conditions by Force Majeure, then its obligation to perform in accordance with the Agreement and Terms will be governed by paragraph 10.2.2 of these Terms.
14 Feedback
14.1 The Gut Expert welcomes all feedback, and you can contact us by phone (our contact number is available on our Website) or by emailing us at hello@thegutexpert.com
14.2 Although we strive to provide our clients with the best possible experience, in the event you are dissatisfied with our Services we will always endeavour to resolve the issue quickly and easily.
15 Contact The Gut Expert
15.1 Please submit any questions you have about these Terms or your Appointment by emailing us at hello@thegutexpert.com or by filling out our online form at https://www.thegutexpert.com/contact
16 Severance
16.1 If any term or provision of these Terms and Conditions is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be severed from these Terms. Any modification to, or severance of a provision under these Terms shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of these Terms.
The remainder of the provisions hereof shall continue in full force and effect as if these Terms had been agreed with the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision eliminated.
17 Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
17.1 These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales.
17.2 While we do not anticipate this and will always strive to make our clients happy, in the event of any dispute arising from or as a result of these Terms, the Parties agree to resolve it by amicable settlement. Should all efforts at amicable settlement fail (such efforts lasting for not less than 30 days from the date on which the grievance or dispute arose) the Parties shall refer the dispute to a mutually appointed mediator. The Parties agree to uphold the settlement arrived at, at the conclusion of mediation. Should mediation fail, the courts of England and Wales shall have jurisdiction over any disputes arising under the Agreement.
18 Entire Agreement
18.1 These Terms contain the entire agreement between the Parties relating to the subject matter and at the time of dealing with us supersede any previous agreements, arrangements, undertakings or proposals, oral or written.
The Gut Expert reserves the right to vary these Terms and we request you to refer to these Terms at regular intervals to ensure that you stay completely updated.