HSCAMP Scheme Rules

Procedures and policies for Alternative Dispute Resolution

HSCAMP LTD. Version 1.0, September 2026. Next review September 2027.

1. About HSCAMP and this document

HSCAMP LTD (company number 14721817), trading as HSCAMP, provides Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for complaints brought by a patient against an independent healthcare provider that is a member of HSCAMP.

These Scheme Rules explain what we do, what we can and cannot look at, how to bring a complaint to us, how we handle it, how long it takes, what the possible outcomes are and what those outcomes mean. They apply to every complaint referred to us. Please read them before referring a complaint.

To find out whether the provider you wish to complain about is a member of HSCAMP, see our list of members at hscamp.co.uk/providers-hscamp-covers.

The HSCAMP ADR process is free to patients. We do not charge patients any fee at any stage.

Our annual report is published at hscamp.co.uk/annual-report.

2. Scope of the ADR process

2.1 The kinds of ADR we carry out

We carry out 2 kinds of ADR. Which one applies depends on the complaint and on what the parties agree.

Complaint Resolution is a form of mediation. We act as an impartial intermediary between the patient and the provider to help them reach an agreed settlement of the complaint. We do not impose a decision.

Adjudication is a determination by an independent adjudicator. The adjudicator reviews the complete case file and issues a written decision with reasons.

2.2 Possible outcomes

Complaint Resolution may result in:

• a written settlement agreed and signed by both parties, which may include an apology, a written explanation, a refund or a goodwill payment, remedial or revision treatment, a change to the provider’s procedures, or any other action the parties agree; or
• no settlement, in which case the patient may ask for the complaint to proceed to Adjudication, or may pursue any other remedy available to them, including legal action.

Adjudication may result in the complaint being dismissed, partially upheld or upheld. Where a complaint is partially upheld or upheld, the adjudicator may direct one or more of the following:

• a written apology from the provider;
• a goodwill payment of up to £5,000;
• provision of records, or a further written explanation;
• funding of a further clinical review, or of revision or remedial treatment;
• an independent external review of an aspect of the provider’s practice;
• a specified change to the provider’s procedures.

The adjudicator cannot award damages, interest, legal costs or any sum above the £5,000 goodwill limit, and cannot take any action against a practitioner’s registration or a provider’s registration with a regulator.

2.3 The complaints we can deal with

We deal with disputes between a patient and an independent healthcare provider arising from a contract for private healthcare treatment or services. We are competent to handle complaints about:

• the clinical outcome of treatment;
• the information given before treatment, and informed consent;
• the standard of care provided, including aftercare and follow up;
• communication with the patient, and the conduct of staff;
• record keeping, and access to records;
• the way the provider handled the patient’s complaint;
• a request for a refund, goodwill payment, revision treatment or other remedy arising from any of the above.

We cover the following sectors: cosmetic and plastic surgery; aesthetic medicine and non surgical cosmetic treatment; private dental treatment; private general practice and specialist consultation; private diagnostics, physiotherapy and allied health services; and private clinics and hospitals providing elective treatment.

2.4 What we consider when resolving a complaint

In both Complaint Resolution and Adjudication we consider the contract between the patient and the provider, the clinical records and other evidence supplied by the parties, the provider’s own complaints procedure and published standards, relevant professional and regulatory standards, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and the established legal principles governing clinical standards and consent, being the tests in Bolam, Bolitho and Montgomery.

3. Contact details

You can refer a complaint or ask us a question in any of the following ways.

• Online form: hscamp.co.uk/submit-a-complaint
• Email: info@hscamp.co.uk
• Post: HSCAMP LTD, 33 Holland Street, London W8 4LX

Telephone: 020 3917 4281. The line is answered at any hour by our assistant, which takes your details and passes them to the team; please do not give medical details by telephone. If you would find it easier to give us your complaint by telephone or by video call, to speak to someone rather than write, to receive documents in a different format, to have longer at any stage, or to have someone else speak for you, tell us and we will arrange it. See section 11 on reasonable adjustments.

4. General information

• Complaints can be submitted to us in English and the ADR procedure is conducted in English. We accept documents in Welsh and in other languages, and we will arrange translation of key documents where it is reasonable to do so, at no cost to the patient.
• The procedure is conducted in writing, using our secure online platform, by email or by post. We will arrange a telephone or video call, or accept an oral statement, where a party needs this as a reasonable adjustment or where the adjudicator considers it would assist. We do not hold hearings.
• Either party may withdraw from the procedure at any time by telling us in writing. If the patient withdraws, we close the case. If the provider withdraws from Complaint Resolution, the patient may ask for the complaint to proceed to Adjudication.
• Both parties are entitled to be represented or assisted by another person at any stage. It does not matter whether that person is legally qualified.
• Taking part in our procedure does not prevent a patient from seeking redress through the courts, and does not affect any legal right the patient has.
• The average length of our procedure is 28 working days, measured from the date we notify the parties that we have the complete case file. No case takes longer than 90 days.
• We do not award costs. Each party bears its own costs of taking part, and no costs order is made against a patient in any circumstances.

5. Fees and costs

The service is free to patients. No fee, charge or cost of any kind is payable by a patient at any stage of the procedure, and no costs are awarded against a patient.

The provider pays HSCAMP a fixed fee for each case, according to its membership level. The fee is payable whatever the outcome and is not affected by the outcome. The current fees payable by providers are:

Fee payable by the provider

Bronze

Gold

Annual membership

£195

£995

Complaint Resolution, per case

£495

£350

Adjudication, per case

£1,800

£1,300

All figures are exclusive of VAT.

Where an adjudicator considers that an independent expert report is essential to determine a complaint, HSCAMP commissions that report and the cost is met by the provider. No part of that cost is ever passed to the patient.

6. Referring a complaint to HSCAMP

Before you can refer a complaint to us:

• the provider must be a member of HSCAMP;
• you must first have raised the complaint with the provider and given it the opportunity to resolve the matter, and either received the provider’s final written response, or waited 8 weeks from the date you raised the complaint without receiving one; and
• you must give your consent for us to obtain and process your clinical records for the purpose of the ADR. We will ask you for this in writing.

You must refer the complaint to us within 12 months of the date of the provider’s final written response. If the provider did not issue a final response, the 12 months runs from the end of the 8 week period described above. We may accept a referral made later than this where there is a good reason for the delay.

Members of HSCAMP are required to tell patients, when they issue their final response, that this free service is available and how to contact us.

7. Grounds for refusal

We may refuse to deal with a complaint for one or more of the following reasons:

• before referring the complaint to us, the patient has not attempted to raise it with the provider and to resolve it directly with the provider;
• the provider is not a member of HSCAMP;
• the complaint is frivolous or vexatious;
• the dispute is being, or has previously been, considered by a court or by another ADR provider, or has already been determined by HSCAMP;
• the complaint was not referred within the time limit in section 6 and there is no good reason for the delay;
• the value of the remedy sought, or the likely value of any claim arising from the matters complained of, clearly exceeds the £5,000 goodwill limit of the scheme;
• the complaint concerns treatment funded by the NHS;
• the complaint is in substance an allegation about a practitioner’s fitness to practise, or a safeguarding concern, rather than a dispute about the contract for treatment;
• dealing with a dispute of that type would seriously impair the effective operation of HSCAMP, for example because it requires expertise we cannot obtain.

If we refuse to deal with a complaint, or the complaint falls outside our scope, we will tell both parties as soon as possible, in writing, and explain why. Wherever we can, we will tell you about other organisations that may be able to help. For example, we will point patients with a complaint about NHS funded treatment to the provider’s NHS complaints procedure and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and patients raising a fitness to practise or safety concern to the relevant professional regulator and to the Care Quality Commission or its equivalent in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

8. The ADR procedure

• When we receive a complaint we acknowledge it within 3 working days and review it to confirm that the provider is a member, that the internal stage has been completed and that the complaint is within our scope. If we cannot deal with it we tell both parties as described in section 7.
• If we can deal with the complaint we write to both parties confirming this, explaining the procedure and the expected timescales, and confirming which kind of ADR will be used.
• We check for any conflict of interest before we begin, and again if the circumstances change. Our policy is summarised in section 9.
• We ask the provider for the complete case file, which will usually include the clinical records, the consent documentation, any photographs, the correspondence about the complaint and the provider’s response. We ask the patient for a written statement of their complaint, the outcome they seek, and any evidence they wish us to consider. Each party has 10 working days to respond.
• The patient’s submission, including their arguments, evidence, documents and the outcome they seek, is sent to the provider for comment. The provider has 10 working days to respond.
• The provider’s response and evidence is then sent to the patient for comment. The patient has 10 working days to respond. This exchange is repeated as often as is necessary, so that the patient sees all the evidence and comment put forward by the provider before a decision is made.
• When we have everything we need to determine the complaint, we notify both parties in writing that we have the complete case file. The time limits for the outcome run from that date.
• In Complaint Resolution we then work with both parties to identify the issues and the options and to reach a written settlement. If no settlement is reached within 28 working days of the complete case file, we tell both parties, and the patient may ask for the complaint to proceed to Adjudication.
• In Adjudication we appoint an adjudicator with relevant clinical, regulatory or legal experience who has no connection with either party. The adjudicator reviews the case file and the parties’ submissions and may ask either party questions in writing. The adjudicator issues a written decision with reasons, normally within 28 working days of the complete case file and in every case within 90 days of it.
• We keep both parties informed about the conduct and progress of the case. We write to both parties at each stage listed above, and if any stage is going to take longer than the time stated we tell both parties in writing, explain why, and give a revised date.

9. Outcomes, and what happens next

When the procedure concludes we write to both parties at the same time with the outcome and, in an Adjudication, the reasons on which the decision is based. We do this promptly and in writing in every case, including where there has been no outcome.

When we issue the outcome we also remind both parties that:

• the patient chooses whether or not to accept or follow the proposed solution;
• taking part in the procedure does not prevent the patient from seeking redress through the courts;
• the outcome may be different from an outcome determined by a court applying legal rules; and
• the patient may accept or reject the decision.

The patient has 14 days from the date the decision is issued to tell us whether they accept it.

If the patient accepts an adjudication decision, the decision becomes binding on the provider, which must implement it, including paying any goodwill payment, within 30 days. If the patient rejects the decision, or does not respond within 14 days, the decision does not take effect, the case is closed, and the patient remains free to pursue any other remedy, including legal action.

An adjudication decision is never binding on the patient. Nothing in this scheme, and nothing a patient signs in order to use it, restricts or removes any legal right the patient has, including the right to bring a claim in court.

There is no general right of appeal against an adjudication decision on its merits. Either party may ask for a Review within 14 days of the decision being issued, on 3 grounds only: material new evidence that could not reasonably have been provided during the original adjudication; a demonstrable procedural error or breach of natural justice in the way the adjudication was conducted; or evidence that the other party materially misled the adjudicator by fabrication or deliberate omission. A Review is conducted by a senior reviewer who took no part in the original decision, and may confirm, vary or quash it. Asking for a Review does not affect the patient’s right to reject the decision or to go to court.

10. Independence, impartiality and conflicts of interest

We act independently and impartially before and while we carry out ADR. We maintain a written Conflict of Interest Policy, which every adjudicator and mediator signs before taking any case and re signs annually, and a Conflict of Interest Log recording both actual and perceived conflicts and how they were handled.

Before a case is allocated we check whether the proposed adjudicator or mediator has any connection with either party, including any past or present clinical, professional, commercial, personal or financial connection. If a conflict exists, or could reasonably be perceived to exist, that person does not take the case. If a conflict comes to light after a case has started, we stop, tell both parties, and reallocate the case.

Our adjudicators and mediators are not employed or remunerated by any provider that is a party to a dispute they are handling. They are paid a fixed fee for the work and their pay does not depend on the number of cases they handle, the outcome of any case, or the financial value of any case. Neither the provider’s membership level nor the amount of business a provider brings to HSCAMP has any bearing on how a complaint is decided.

11. Expertise, and accessibility

Our adjudicators are independent practitioners drawn from medicine, surgery, nursing, social care and general practice, together with reviewers with a background in regulatory affairs and in law. Each adjudicator is selected for a case on the basis of their background and experience, so that it matches the issues raised by the complaint. All adjudicators work to a written role description, are engaged under a written contract, maintain a training record, and have their decisions checked for quality before issue.

We are committed to making the service accessible. You may refer a complaint using our online form, by email, by post or by telephone on 020 3917 4281. If you need to speak to someone rather than write, need us to communicate with you in a particular way, need documents in an alternative format, need more time at any stage, or need any other adjustment in order to take part, tell us and we will arrange it. Our Reasonable Adjustments Policy is available at hscamp.co.uk/reasonable-adjustments and on request.

12. Confidentiality and your personal information

The information you give us is used only to deal with your complaint. HSCAMP handles personal data, including health data, in accordance with UK data protection law. We tell you what we hold, why we hold it, how long we keep it and what your rights are in our Privacy Notice at hscamp.co.uk/privacy-policy.

We share the patient’s submission and evidence with the provider, and the provider’s submission and evidence with the patient, because a fair procedure requires each party to see the other’s case. We do not share the case file with anyone else except where we are required to do so by law, or where an independent expert is instructed with the parties’ knowledge.

We keep a record of each case, including the correspondence, the submissions and the outcome, for 6 years from the date the case is closed, and then delete it.

13. If you are unhappy with our service

If you are unhappy with the service HSCAMP has provided, including the conduct of an adjudicator or mediator or any delay, please tell us. Write to info@hscamp.co.uk or to HSCAMP LTD, 33 Holland Street, London W8 4LX.

We acknowledge service complaints within 3 working days. A director who was not involved in the case investigates and replies in writing within 20 working days, or explains why more time is needed and when we will reply. If you remain dissatisfied, the other director reviews the matter and replies within a further 20 working days. That reply is our final response.

A complaint about our service is not a way of reopening the merits of an adjudication decision. Those can only be revisited through the Review described in section 9.

We keep a log of complaints about our service and report the number and nature of them to CTSI in our annual report.

14. Reporting

We publish an annual report on our website within 1 month of each anniversary of our accreditation, and provide it to CTSI, as required by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Alternative Dispute Resolution) (Information) Regulations 2026. We also tell CTSI as soon as is reasonably practicable if any of the information we gave in our application changes.

15. Version control

Version

Date

Author

Summary of change

1.0

September 2026

S Frazer, Director

First issue.