I would like to welcome you to my practice.

I look forward to assisting you to better health and to a productive working partnership. Many people find the prospect of a consultation with a psychiatrist rather daunting and I hope the following may help alleviate the process. Please take the time to read this information to help you make better use of the services I offer. Hopefully it will give you the answers to many frequently asked questions about my practice.

As a psychiatrist, I am a medically qualified doctor and I specialise in the assessment and treatment of conditions that affect mental health. Unlike a psychologist or psychotherapist, I am able to prescribe medication if it is warranted. I have been trained to manage a wide range of psychological problems including depressive and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, postnatal mental health issues and numerous other conditions that affect one’s psychological wellbeing. Please do not feel stigmatised about seeking help.

In September 2018, I was elected to Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists as a mark of distinction and in recognition of the significant contribution I have made to the core purpose of the College throughout my career.

I am a private, self-employed general adult psychiatrist and can treat patients aged between 18-65 years. I am based at The Priory Hospital Roehampton which is the UK’s largest private psychiatric hospital with a number of different departments which can deliver most types of psychiatric care.

Please be mindful that as a private doctor, I can only provide treatment within the private sector. There are likely to be a wide-range of other options available to manage your health concerns within the NHS, especially if you require inpatient treatment for perinatal mental ill health. I could provide you some basic information about these if you request, but would advise you to explore the options in more detail with your NHS GP if you wish to pursue them.

The initial consultation usually takes about an hour during which you can tell me about your symptoms and circumstances that you feel might be contributing to the situation you present with. I will use the time to ask you about your background, your upbringing and your relationships as these will usually have had some bearing on your current situation. It would also be useful if you could provide me with a list of current medication (if any) that you may be taking. The frequency of follow-up appointments will vary according to your clinical need and usually lasts up to half an hour. Following psychiatric assessment and evaluation, I will discuss a formulation and management plan with you.

Most patients I see invariably get referred for psychological therapy so that they can learn to use skills to help them overcome their current difficulties or past trauma as well as gain additional ways of dealing with future circumstances that could prove troublesome. I refer to a variety of psychotherapists to help you with this task and therapy can include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, supportive counselling, anxiety management techniques and relaxation training amongst others. Family and couple/relationship therapy can also be arranged if required. In addition to individual therapy, I am able to refer patients to attend a selection of psychological group therapies as a day patient at The Priory Hospital Roehampton.

If your condition is more serious and requires inpatient treatment, I can arrange for your admission to The Priory Hospital Roehampton. I usually see my inpatients approximately twice a week.

In keeping with General Medical Council guidelines, I follow good medical practice of communicating with your NHS GP as well as other professionals including psychotherapists, involved in your care. I will routinely send you copies of letters but you are welcome to opt out from receiving these at any stage if requested. If you would prefer not to have such detailed assessment reports sent, please let me know and I will abbreviate accordingly. If medication is prescribed by me, it is very important for your GP to know about it as it may interact with other medications that the GP might wish to prescribe for you. In addition, obtaining medication from your NHS GP is usually considerably cheaper than dispensing a private prescription issued by me.

My permanent PA is Helen Morrissey. If you wish to book/change an appointment or if you have any queries about insurance companies/invoice payments, please contact Helen (+44 20 8392 4203 or helenmorrissey@priorygroup.com or info@drnatashabijlani.co.uk) during weekdays between the hours of 8am to 4pm. If you need to contact me between appointments any clinical matters please telephone or email Helen who will pass this on to me.

I will do my very best to inform you of various treatment options and discuss the ‘pros and cons’ of each so that your views can be fully taken into account before we reach a consensual agreement on your management plan. If you are unhappy with any aspect of your care, please feel free to contact me as soon as you can so that any issues can be resolved as quickly as possible. Should you remain dissatisfied, you can put your concerns in writing and use my formal complaint resolution procedure, which meets with the requirements set out by the Independent Doctors Federation (IDF) for its members and also the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS). You may ask my secretary for a copy of my complaint resolution procedure or download it from my website.

I welcome feedback about my practice.

More information about my practice, background and media contributions can be obtained via my website: www.drnatashabijlani.co.uk

CONSULTATIONS

I provide video consultations via Skype on Tuesdays (and occasionally on Wednesdays), in addition to “in person” appointments at the Priory Hospital Roehampton on Monday mornings and Thursday mornings.

Please familiarise yourself with using Skype before your appointment to avoid delays in establishing communication with me.

Most health insurance companies have authorised telecommunication consultations since the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

I am not contactable via Skype or my Skype email address outside of pre-arranged appointment times.

Please note that it is your responsibility to provide me with a Skype email ID to contact you for your scheduled appointment. If I am unable to reach you, and don’t call within 10 minutes of your appointment time, you should call my secretary on 020 8392 4203 and ask to be connected to me.

Following initial assessment, I will arrange to meet you for regular reviews, the frequency of which will depend on your individual circumstances such as severity of symptoms. If you do not attend for over 6 months, in the absence of prior arrangement with me, I will consider you as having self discharged from my care, back to that of your GP and if you wish to resume treatment at a later date, an hour-long consultation will be required so that I can obtain a detailed update.