Your Visit

On arrival at the hospital, you will check in at reception and be directed to the Cardiology area. Most patients will need an ECG (electrical recording of the heart) which will be carried out first. During your consultation, you will first have a discussion with Dr Dawkins, followed by a clinical examination and most patients will require a transthoracic echocardiogram (see xxx) which will be carried out at the same time. Some patients will also require a CT scan which may be arranged at the same time, or another day.

Yes, Dr Dawkins is able to offer telephone or video consultations. It is usually preferable for a first clinic visit to be face to face, but if you would prefer a virtual consultation please ask. Please check with your insurer to ensure that they will cover a virtual consultation. Some patients would just like to have a discussion about the implications of a test result, or understand what happened during a recent hospital admission. If you can send the test results you already have in advance, then a telephone or video consultation may work well for you.

Yes, Dr Dawkins is quite frequently asked to offer a second opinion, particularly in complex cases.

If you would like to do this, it is helpful if you can provide as much of your clinical documentation as possible before your visit (e.g. clinic letters, test results, scan reports etc). If you have had echocardiograms or other scans, please let us know which hospitals these were carried out in so that we can arrange to get the images transferred across to us for review.

The most common reasons for wanting a second opinion include:

  • Where you have had an NHS hospital admission and you would like to go through the test results and longer term implications in a bit more detail.
  • Where you have been offered (or not offered) a particular treatment and would like to talk through the rationale for this. Examples include bypass surgery (CABG) versus percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and whether or not to close a patent foramen ovale (PFO).
  • Where you have a complex cardiac condition and would just like a new perspective on past events and future management.

You will receive a clinic letter from Dr Dawkins which will outline all of your discussions and the results from any tests. If any test results are awaited, he will write to you separately with these results. We send all clinic correspondence by e-mail if you have given us your e-mail address. We will copy all results to your GP unless you ask us not to. Where a test result is likely to require some explanation, then a follow up appointment (which can be by telephone) may be recommended to discuss the findings. Some heart conditions require regular surveillance (e.g. every six months or a year). If that is the case, we will get in touch with you a month or so before your follow-up is due.

We will confirm expected charges before the appointment. It can be difficult to predict precisely which tests will be required for a new patient; if further tests are recommended, we will confirm the price of these at the time. Do not feel any pressure to have further tests on the day of the appointment if you don’t want to (though most patients prefer to do this for convenience).

If you have private health insurance, and your visit has been authorised, then most insurance companies allow us to invoice them directly which we will do on the day of your visit. If there is a difference between the cost of the investigations/treatment and the amount the insurance provider is willing to pay (known as a Shortfall) then we will invoice you, and it will be your responsibility to pay this. Some insurance companies do not allow us to invoice them directly, so we will invoice you and you will then be able to claim these charges back from the insurer.

You will usually receive an invoice from Dr Dawkins (such as the consultation fee or his fee for any procedures) and another invoice from the hospital (for any tests you have had and the hospital charges for any procedure). If you had a procedure that required an anaesthetist or a procedural imaging expert, then you will also receive a separate invoice from them. We do understand that this can be confusing - please do ask us if you do not understand any invoice. If you are self-paying we can give you a package price that includes all charges, so that you know in advance exactly what a test or procedure will cost.

Fortunately we have managed to maintain our usual service, with clinic appointments generally available within a few days of referral, and he is doing CT scans and procedures several days a week. We are proud that we have not cancelled any clinically urgent consultations, tests or procedures during the pandemic.

There are obviously some changes to minimise the risk of Covid-19. For outpatient clinic visits you will be asked to wear a mask and use hand sanitiser. Generally we only allow the patient to attend appointments but where there is a reason that a second person needs to attend (e.g. complex discussions or the patient has any difficulties with communication or memory) then of course we are flexible on this. Please ask if you feel this is the case. Please let us know if you would like someone to join your appointment by speakerphone. For procedures, you will require a negative Covid-19 test before coming into hospital. The rules on this change frequently so we will confirm these before your admission. Please be careful to follow any instructions carefully.

Dr Dawkins has private clinics at London Bridge Hospital and at the Nuffield Manor Hospital in Oxford. His Practice Manager co-ordinates appointments and procedures in all locations and can be contacted on 020 7205 2024, 01865 598040 and clinic@samdawkins.com. Or you can fill out the Contact form at the bottom of this page.

We prefer it if you are referred by your GP (either NHS or private) as they co-ordinate your care and it is better if they are kept informed of the details of your appointments and any subsequent investigations and procedures. Most insurance companies will only authorise an outpatient appointment if you have been referred by a GP. If you are self-paying, then a GP referral is not needed.

Once you have booked your appointment, we will send you the appointment details in writing (usually by e-mail), with confirmation of expected fees.

Get in Touch

    Make an enquiry online using this form and one of our team will be in touch. By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by our team.

    Dr Dawkins has private clinics in Oxford at the Nuffield Manor Hospital and in London at Cleveland Clinic London. Please get in touch if you would like to make an appointment. We can usually arrange to see you within a few days. For urgent appointments, a same-day visit or telephone consultation can often be arranged. To arrange an appointment, please complete this form or call us on 020 7205 2024 (London) or 01865 598040 (Oxford).