FAQ’s

Our friendly reception team are always on hand to guide you if you are unsure about which treatment you might need. We can also put you in touch with a practitioner who can answer your questions in more detail.

This will depend on which treatment you require and the appointment duration. You can visit our prices page for more information.

There are pay and display parking spaces on Red Lion Street however, these do get busy. The Paradise Road car park and Waitrose car park are both within a 5 minute walk from us. 

You may feel tender after your treatment. However, if you are concerned, please give us a call on 020 8332 6184. If you feel uncomfortable during treatment or are in too much discomfort, please advise your practitioner and they can stop the treatment.

The Forge Clinic is registered with all major insurance companies; however we only invoice a few directly and you must check prior to book that your specific practitioner is covered by your insurer. Please give us a call to check whether we’d be able to invoice your insurer directly or see our prices page. If we are unable to claim directly, we will provide you with an invoice in order for you to claim reimbursement. Any insurance excesses will be due directly to the clinic with 7 days of invoice.

We work as part of a network with other health professionals and many of our patients are referred to us from other private health care facilities.

Our doors are always open to new patients so a referral is not necessary in order to be treated by us; however a referral can sometimes help us to address your needs in a shorter time span. Whether you are referred or not, we would always recommend bringing any tests results you have, relating to your concern, to your appointment in order to give your practitioner as clear a picture as possible.

If you are claiming through private health insurance, you may need a referral from your GP as part of the preauthorisation process, please confirm this with your insurance company prior to booking. 

Whilst we appreciate that sometimes priorities can change, we do require 24 hours’ notice to cancel or reschedule your appointment. Cancellations without 24 hours’ notice will incur a cancellation fee. Please note, if you wish to cancel your appointment outside of our opening hours please email info@theforgeclinic.com to avoid the cancellation fee.

Please arrive on time for your appointment as we will not be able to extend treatment times if you arrive late. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for an appointment, it will be marked as a missed appointment.

Depending on the area of concern, wearing loose comfortable clothing which allows exposure of the area (if needed) would be advisable for your assessment. Depending on the location of your injury your practitioner may ask you to remove certain items of clothing to carry out your assessment and treatment.

Shorts are preferable for lower limb concerns and a vest for shoulder and neck issues, if you’d prefer to change into these clothes at the clinic this is also an option.

If you remove any jewellery or items of clothing during your treatment, please ensure that you take your belongings with you at the end of your appointment as we cannot be held responsible for lost property.

Our focus is always on continuity of care, so we will advise you on the best course of action for your needs during and after treatment, even if this means referring you elsewhere.

As The Forge Clinic is a multidisciplinary practice, we are often able to offer an in-house referral to another practitioner, who will then have full access to your notes and a handover will be carried out so they can continue on the best course of treatment.

We also coordinate with other health care professions in Richmond and the Greater London area so we can refer you to another clinic or hospital if necessary.

If your injury or concern is extensive, or you have multiple issues/ areas of the body which require treating, you may need to book more than one session. This will allow enough time for your practitioner to assess and treat each problem.

The building that houses The Forge Clinic has a long history and was originally built in 1909 as a blacksmith’s forge. The building then became a filling factory for ammunitions during World War II and then a storage space. From 1957, the building housed the Simworth Press printer company.  In 1995 Dr Brian Pattinson opened The Pattinson Clinic. In 2005, Dr Pattinson sold the clinic to osteopath Matthew Stevens. We are now owned by Vicky Baars, who has been with the clinic since 2011.