Consultations
Wellness Medical is run by Dr Dee Marshall who is committed to a holistic view of health and offers nutritional and environmental medicine and homeopathy.
Appointments are available for adults and young people from 18 up.
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What is Nutritional & Environmental Medicine?
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What to Expect
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Initial Assessment
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Ongoing Treatment
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Fees and Other Costs
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Terms and Conditions
What is Nutritional & Environmental Medicine?
(Also called Ecological Medicine, or Functional Medicine in the US)
Nutritional and Environmental medicine takes into account the effects of diet, lifestyle and environmental factors on health at an individual level. This involves investigating how nutritional deficiencies and imbalances, digestive health (your internal environment), environmental pollutants and household chemicals are influencing your biochemistry and physiology, and how this can explain many symptoms of physical and mental ill-health and low energy, especially when understood in the context of genetic susceptibility. Understanding this means that the focus of getting well can be on determining what is causing health problems, why symptoms are occurring, where pollutants may be coming from, and what you can do about it.
The emphasis for treatment is on putting together an individualised plan using a high quality diet which is high in nutrients and low in allergens, in conjunction with appropriate nutritional supplements, minimal use of prescription medicines and a focus on lifestyle factors such as chemical avoidance, methods to reduce chemical load in the body, sleep, stress management, and physical activity. Homeopathic treatment is also offered if requested, and is very effective either as a treatment in itself or in addition to the nutritional and environmental methods. This whole approach is a combination of the best elements of both conventional and complementary medicine.
Recovery is an active process and the best results occur where there is good motivation to make some changes and work as a partnership in managing your health. I can give you guidance on what to do, how to do it and why, but it requires each person putting it into practice for themselves. When you start to see positive results and improvements in your health this will provide the motivation to maintain what you put in place.
I am very committed to applying a proper understanding of human biochemistry and physiology when recommending nutritional interventions and other treatments, as well as taking into account each patient as a whole person. With this in mind I regularly take part in ongoing education in this field of medicine. If indicated I will also suggest other interventions and recommend other practitioners if it would be beneficial to a particular person, but not within my area of expertise.
What to Expect
As with other Environmental doctors, the way I work with patients differs somewhat from the conventional medical model most people are familiar with.
The first step is to complete a health questionnaire. It is important to spend time completing this, as it is helps to understand your case ahead of your first appointment. It will only take a short time to complete. It includes questions about:
- Your most troubling and frequently experienced symptoms
- The main outcome you wish to gain from treatment
- Your general health and medical history
- Your current supplements and medications
- A one week food diary to complete
Initial Assessment
Environmental-Nutritional medicine involves a complex and comprehensive health review and, as a new patient, your initial assessment is usually divided into three phases:
- A first consultation, lasting 1 ¼ hours, involving a thorough history and relevant examination, recommendations for diagnostic investigations, and usually some initial treatment recommendations and dietary changes prior to test results. This also enables an estimate to be made of how long your treatment program will last and what it will include. It gives you the chance to ask any questions you may have about your condition and what you should expect.
- A follow up consultation within 2-4 weeks depending on which investigations are done, as some results take several weeks to come back. The consultation will last around 45 minutes and is to review the results of investigations and to create a more detailed treatment plan based on these and any new information in your history that may come to light.
- A third consultation after a further 4-8 weeks, lasting around 45 minutes, to review response to treatment and create a longer term management plan.
There is no obligation to commit to a certain number of consultations but the three phases of the initial assessment make it the most efficient way to determine the underlying causes of your health problems and design an effective treatment plan.
Ongoing Treatment
Subsequent follow-up appointments are made on an as-needed basis throughout the remainder of your treatment plan, with the frequency of your follow-ups depending upon the severity of your condition as well as your response to the treatment.
Fees and Other Costs
There is no obligation to commit to a certain number of consultations or undergo investigations, but the initial assessment is structured to be the most efficient way to determine the underlying causes of your health problems and design an effective treatment plan. While the initial upfront cost of the investigations and consultations may seem large in total, it is designed to save you money and time over the long-term by performing the appropriate diagnostic testing and evaluation before treatment begins. However, it is also possible to space out investigations over time and to gradually build up a treatment plan according to your budget.
Consultations
The consultation fees include additional time spent outside the consultation on case analysis, collating and evaluating laboratory results, creating personalised supplement lists, GP correspondence, and administrative costs.
Initial Consultation:1 hour and 15 minutes, £335.
Follow Up consultations: 45 minutes, £200
Additional Costs
Consultation costs do not include laboratory testing costs, any prescribed supplements, homeopathic medicines or micro immunotherapy formulas.
Additional administrative fees are incurred for any investigations requested by patients between appointments. There are no extra cost incurred for investigations arranged during an appointment.
Laboratory Tests
The cost of individual laboratory tests varies from £20 to £350 with the total ordered during the initial assessment averaging £200- £800 depending on the complexity of your condition and the level of investigations required. Any ongoing costs of testing will vary considerably depending on how much has been done in the initial assessment and how unwell you are, but there may be no requirement for further testing for several months, if at all. Tests are always suggested as a recommendation and there is no obligation.
Supplements
The cost of supplements that are prescribed as part of your treatment plan will vary considerably depending on the complexity of the case and the individual plan, but will probably average around £50-£150 per month for high quality products. I do not have supplements available for sale but I will recommend good quality brands which are available for internet order or may be available from good independent heath shops.
Terms and Conditions
Fees: the fee charged covers the consultation, further time spent in case analysis and treatment planning, and any necessary, brief telephone queries made between appointments which require less than 10 minutes to deal with. Additional short telephone consultations may be booked between appointments if required, and will be charged on a pro rata basis.
Additional Costs: The consultation fee does not include the cost of any prescribed nutritional supplements, laboratory tests or homeopathic remedies.
Payment: Payment is due by the day of the appointment. Our preferred method to receive payment is via internet banking. Payment should be made by the day of your appointment. Payment by Cash or Cheques can also be made on the day. Unfortunately I am unable to take credit card payments at present.
Cancellation of Appointments: Five working days’ notice is required if an appointment cannot be kept (ie one week). If you are not able to give this required notice period then a cancellation charge will be made for the full fee.
Non-attendance: If an appointment is not kept, with no advance warning of cancellation, the full fee will be charged.
In exceptional or unavoidable personal circumstances the fee may be waived if the appointment is re-booked and subsequently kept. Please allow plenty of time to get to your appointment and make allowance for travel delays, parking etc. in London, as these will not be considered as valid reasons for waiving the fee.
Data protection: The Data Protection May 2018, in line with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), controls how your personal information is used. It places legal requirement on each company to store it securely and protect it from unauthorised or unlawful processing. In line with the General Medical Council’s guidance on confidentiality, your personal data is protected at all times against improper access, disclosure or loss, and identifiable personal data is never improperly disclosed in any circumstances. Your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. It will only be used for internal functions relevant to my practice.
