Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, we have 13 allocated parking spaces for clients of EPIC Solutions.

This is completely up to you. We do not require both parents to attend as we understand it can be difficult to fit around both parents work schedule etc. However, if you feel it would be beneficial for both parents to attend to help ensure no details or key points are missed, then you are more than welcome.

Yes please, we do require the young person to attend the initial assessment as meeting them is a key part to be able to understand the difficulties more clearly and to determine the appropriate next steps. We understand that some young people may feel anxious and not want to attend, please do try your best to get them to attend. But, in extreme circumstances, if they really cannot attend our Consultants will meet with just the parent(s) first and then arrange an alternative way of completing the rest of the assessment with the young person.

All our Consultants have years of experience working with young people with a range of difficulties. Therefore, they are all used to adapting the appointment style/structure to fit the young person’s needs and to ensure they feel comfortable, and the appointment is as efficient as possible. They are happy to speak to the parents alone for part of the appointment if you wish, your child can wait in the waiting room. If your child is young, it may be that one of you has to sit outside with them while the other talks to our Consultant. For the older patients, it may be that our Consultants want to speak to them alone for part of the assessment as well.

In general, we do not offer a phone call with our Consultants prior to the initial assessment and we find they are not often helpful. However, if you feel it is essential, we can arrange this, but it will be at an extra cost.

Yes, we often can. However, we ask that you provide us with detail regarding the services they are receiving, any reports you may have, who is providing the services (both organisation, such as CAMHS, as well as the Consultant, therapist, practitioner etc. who they are directly working with). We will then be able to advise further re whether we can provide any support on top of this. It is very important that any help they are currently receiving continues, as we are not able to offer the 24/7 emergent care that they can. Therefore, any input we may have on top, we must ensure that it is complimentary to their input.

Our assessments are in line with all NICE recommendations and we are CQC registered.  We have contracts with both DCC and adoption services whom recognise our assessments and to date no GP has come forward to challenge any of our diagnoses.  We would recommend that you check with your local authority, if you are a resident outside of Devon.

Yes, we can, please look at the details of our medication package on our website. We would usually only prescribe medications we have recommended ourselves.

What to expect during the initial assessment will vary between Consultants and they will all be very flexible and adapt the appointment to work best for the young person and/or as the parents feel is most beneficial.

As a basic guideline, they will all want to talk directly to both the young person and the parents individually for part of assessment (doesn’t have to be without other in the room). They will want to know the young person’s thoughts on why they are there, their thoughts/behaviours/physical difficulties, why they behave/feel the way they do, what may have caused the difficulties etc. They will ask the parents similar questions. They will ask for a brief developmental history. A possible physical examination in relevant cases. They will ask what you would like the outcome of the initial assessment to be. They will discuss further assessments/treatments that we can offer and why they feel it may be beneficial to proceed with them.

Yes, we have a specialist OT therapist within our team. We can offer these as a stand-alone assessment (following initial consultation) or alongside a neurodevelopmental assessment (ASD/ADHD).

Yes, we have a couple of Speech and Language Therapists within our team. We can offer these as a stand-alone assessment (following initial consultation) or alongside a neurodevelopmental assessment (ASD/ADHD).

Yes, we have a specialist Physiotherapist within our team. We can offer these as a stand-alone assessment (following initial consultation) or alongside a neurodevelopmental assessment (ASD/ADHD).

Yes, we have a few Psychologists within our team, who can complete Cognitive Assessments. We can offer them as a stand-alone assessment, or part of a full neurodevelopmental assessment.

All our Consultants and associates are very experienced in helping children with all sorts of worries and anxiety’s. We are very happy to adopt a variety of approaches to encourage your child and make them feel at ease. If you really feel they will find attendance difficult, please discuss this further at initial enquiry as alternative options may be possible in extreme circumstances.

EPIC Solutions are a consultant led practice, we feel strongly that whatever your child’s difficulties and whatever you have previously been advised, it is important that an experienced consultant first meets you and your child to discuss your concerns. This ensures that embarking on any more complex assessments is appropriate for your child and therefore cost effective to yourselves. This also ensures that any ongoing assessment or treatment with epic solutions continues to have consultant oversight.

EPIC do not do stand-alone dyslexia assessments as our expertise is within more complex cognitive profile assessments which highlight different learning difficulties. Dyslexia is a diagnosis made within an educational context, not a health context. We only make diagnoses that are relevant to health.

Neuro development continues until the age of 25. Epic will therefore provide assessments for most difficulties between 18-25. There after we can offer adult ADHD assessment but only where this is relevant to a parent of a child we are already seeing.

Yes, EPIC Solutions work with the Devon County Council Education Inclusion Team, with Adoption Services and a number of private schools across the region. We also take of individual referrals from Social Services teams across the region. Please contact us to discuss your needs.

Yes, we offer a range of different therapeutic modalities, including; CBT, DBT, family therapy, compassion focus therapy, drama therapy. We have a team of very experienced associates who can usually meet most therapeutic needs. This will be discussed at your initial assessment where relevant.

No, we do not perform medical investigations. Our experienced consultants may recommend investigations and will communicate this with your GP and/or hospital services as necessary.

No, our operating hours are 9-5pm Mon-Fri for access to administration.  Outside of these hours there is an answer phone facility.  Everyone within EPIC will aim to be as flexible and responsive as possible, but we do not offer a rapid access or out of hours service.  You can reasonably expect a response within 48 hours.  When out of our operating hours; If you require medical assistance, please contact your GP in the first instance.  If you require urgent medical care, please call NHS 111.  If it is a life-threatening emergency, please call 999.

EPIC Solutions do not work directly with insurance companies. However, we are very happy to provide you with any paperwork or confirmatory emails that will facilitate you being able to reclaim payment from insurance companies.

Our EPIC Solutions team has consultant expertise from the neonatal period through infancy, early childhood and through the remainder of adolescence and early adulthood. We are therefore able to see any person from 0-25yrs.

This depends a little on what assessment is recommended. We mostly aim to complete any standard neurodevelopmental assessment between 2-3 month. There are some circumstances in which our consultants specifically recommend that this process should be either slower (often in very young children) or faster (if they are coming up to a crucial transition). This will usually be accommodated.

Our working standard is within 6 weeks of enquiry, there may be exceptions to this during periods of maximum annual leave (i.e. school holidays).

We require at least 48 hours’ notice for the cancellation of appointments. Cancellations with less than 48 hours’ notice will incur a charge of 50% of the total fee. If less than 24 hours’ notice is given, or if you do not attend your appointment without notifying us, the full fee will be payable. Where the missed appointment is part of an assessment the charges will be £150 for a missed Cognitive Assessment and £100 for other assessments including the ADOS, Developmental History, Coventry grid, SALT or OT Assessment.

All clients of EPIC Solutions must register before they are able to use the service. This section provides information relating to how EPIC Solutions handles your personal information. The information that we hold is confidential and often sensitive in nature. Any personal information we hold about you is stored and processed under our data protection policy, in line with The Data Protection Act 1998 (in force on the date this statement became operational) and the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) adopted on 27th April 2016 and enforceable from 25th May 2018. Information is retained in line with Department of Health recommendations. Information on a child will be kept until their 25th birthday or 26th if the young person was 17 at the conclusion of treatment, or 8 years after death. Medical records of adult clients are retained for a period of seven years. Dr Vicky Hill is the data controller for EPIC Solutions.

All consultation fees must be settled within 7 days of the date of consultation. Ongoing therapy fees are invoiced at month end and must be settled within 7 days of the date of the invoice. Specialist assessment fees must be paid 50% in advance of the assessment and the remainder in full before receipt of the written report. We accept payment by credit or debit card, BACs transfer or cheques. Clients with outstanding accounts are only seen at the clinician’s discretion.