For clinics and traders

Last updated: 9 May 2026

AR-ADR gives UK private medical aesthetic and cosmetic surgery clinics three things at once: a complaint-handling system that runs alongside your team, an independent adjudication route when a dispute escalates, and a CPD pathway for senior clinicians who want to shape sector standards.

1. Complaint handling, run inside the app

When a patient raises a complaint, the AR-ADR app helps the clinic manage it cleanly from start to finish — without complaints being lost in email threads or split across staff inboxes.

• Evidence collation. Patient correspondence, consent forms, treatment records, before-and-after photos and any third-party communications are gathered into a single case file. Each item is timestamped and attributed.
• Internal task assignment. Route the file to the right people — reception, the treating clinician, the medical director, a senior nurse — with deadlines and reminders. Larger clinics keep visibility across multiple sites.
• Response drafting. Structured response forms and templates so the clinic’s reply addresses every point the consumer has raised. Consistent format protects the clinic, helps the consumer, and produces a clean record if the matter does later reach AR-ADR adjudication.
• Properly assessed. A clinical-quality assessment workflow ensures that complaints are evaluated against the treatment that was agreed and the standards that apply, not just the patient’s framing.
• Final response & deadlock. When a final response is appropriate, the app helps you produce one that meets UK consumer-law expectations and includes the required signposting language.
• Audit trail. Every action is logged, giving the clinic a complete record for its own protection and for any external review.
• Patient confidence. Consumers see that their complaint is logged, an investigation has started, and a final response is on the way — which alone resolves a meaningful share of complaints before they ever escalate.

2. Independent adjudication when escalation is needed

If internal handling does not resolve the matter and the consumer wants to escalate, AR-ADR steps in.

• Pre-screening for eligibility and refusal grounds — only eligible cases reach the clinic for response.
• Early Resolution by case officers often settles matters on the papers without full adjudication.
• Practitioner-led adjudication where needed, by an independent panellist who already understands the relevant treatments. See adjudicator panel.
• Reasoned written outcomes on a durable medium, typically within 90 days of a complete file.
• Binding on participating clinics if accepted by the consumer (see legal effect) — outcomes are not binding on the consumer unless they accept.

3. A CPD pathway for senior clinicians

For experienced clinicians, AR-ADR is a route into adjudication — and an opportunity to feed back better complaint handling into their own practice.

• Structured training. Approximately 20 hours of taught content, written exam and a practical assignment in which the trainee adjudicator decides a worked case file under supervision. Currently going through formal CPD accreditation. See adjudicator panel for the full curriculum.
• Earn fees per adjudicated case. Adjudicators are paid a fixed fee per case. Pay is not contingent on outcome.
• Improve your own complaint handling. Clinicians who train as adjudicators learn how complaints are properly assessed, how reasoned outcomes are written, and how the consumer-law and clinical-negligence boundaries actually run. They take that knowledge back to their own clinic.
• Shape sector standards. Decisions written by practitioners build a body of guidance about what reasonable practice looks like — useful to the sector, regulators and other practitioners.
• Conflicts handled. Adjudicators do not decide cases involving their own clinic, employer, training relationships or any other actual, potential or perceived conflict.

If you or a colleague are interested in becoming a panel adjudicator, this is open whether or not your clinic subscribes to AR-ADR.

Your responsibilities as a participating clinic

Participating in AR-ADR is paired with a small number of clear obligations under the UK consumer ADR framework. We help you meet them.

• Signposting on your website and terms. Tell consumers about AR-ADR — name, contact details and that you participate — on your website and in your general terms and conditions, in line with the information duties in the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes Regulations 2015. We provide a sample clause and a one-page ADR information block on subscription.
• Signposting at deadlock. When you issue a final response or 8 weeks have passed without resolution, tell the consumer in writing about AR-ADR and that they can refer the dispute to us. The app produces compliant signposting language as part of the final-response workflow.
• Engagement. Respond to AR-ADR requests for evidence and submissions within reasonable deadlines. Subscribers commit to engaging with all in-scope cases.
• Compliance. If the consumer accepts a binding adjudication, comply with the outcome promptly.
• Recordkeeping. Keep complaint files for at least 6 years — the app does this for you by default.
• Disclosure. Disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict that arises in a particular case.

Why use AR-ADR

• Cost predictability. Subscribers pay a known annual fee. Per-case fees are fixed in advance. No costs scale with claim value.
• Faster than court. Outcomes are usually issued within 90 days of a complete file, compared with many months for small claims.
• Reputational defence. A reasoned outcome from an independent body can support a clinic’s public position better than a one-sided refund.
• Regulatory readiness. A consumer ADR route signals proactive compliance and is increasingly expected of UK consumer-facing businesses.
• Sector-specific. Decisions are made by practitioners who understand the treatments — not generalist legal professionals.

Two ways to fund

See costs for the published fee schedule.

1. Subscription. Annual fee for ongoing membership. Subscribers are listed; outcomes are binding on the subscriber if accepted by the consumer. Subscribers also get the full complaint-handling app.
2. Per-case. Non-subscribers can opt into AR-ADR for a particular dispute by paying a per-case fee, with both parties agreeing in advance.

Independence — and how it protects everyone

Funding from clinics is what allows the service to be free for consumers. To make sure that funding cannot influence outcomes, AR-ADR operates the following safeguards:

• All clinic fees are paid into the scheme as a whole. No clinic funds the case in which they are a party.
• Adjudicators are paid a fixed fee per case. Pay does not vary with outcome.
• Adjudicators do not know whether a clinic is a subscriber when a case is decided.
• Internal audit checks for any pattern of bias linked to funding status.
• Senior management and the Board have no role in deciding individual cases.

The full conflicts policy is on the independence and governance page.

What participation does not mean

• It is not an endorsement or accreditation of any clinical practice.
• It does not affect a regulator’s oversight of practitioners.
• It does not replace your own internal complaint handling — it supports it, and adjudication sits after it.
• It does not waive the consumer’s right to take a court route if they reject the outcome.

Legal effect for clinics

Where a clinic is a participating subscriber, an Adjudication outcome is binding on the clinic if the consumer accepts it within the deadline set out in the decision (typically 28 days). Outcomes are not binding on the consumer unless they accept. See legal effect.

Frequently asked questions

How does the complaint-handling app fit alongside our existing processes?

It supports your existing process rather than replacing it. Roles, sign-offs and decision-making remain yours. The app standardises how evidence is gathered, where the file lives, who is on the hook for the next step, and what the final response looks like.

Can a clinic refuse to take part in a particular case?

Subscribed clinics agree at point of subscription to engage with AR-ADR for in-scope disputes. Non-subscribers can decline a per-case referral; the consumer may then pursue other routes including court.

Will our subscriber status be public?

Yes. Once we are operating live cases, a list of subscribers will be published. This supports consumer transparency and helps consumers identify which clinics will be bound by AR-ADR outcomes.

What about confidentiality?

Cases are handled in confidence between the parties and AR-ADR. Anonymised statistics are published in our annual transparency report. Personal identifying detail of consumers and named practitioners is not published.

How do you handle complaints that involve clinical questions?

AR-ADR does not determine clinical negligence or personal injury damages. Where evidence touches on clinical matters, adjudicators consider it as part of the contractual and consumer-law analysis — they do not substitute themselves for a clinical regulator. See eligibility.

Can our clinicians become AR-ADR adjudicators?

Yes — and we encourage it. Adjudicator training is open to suitably experienced clinicians whether or not their clinic subscribes. See adjudicator panel.

Express interest

We are accepting expressions of interest from UK-established providers of private medical aesthetic and cosmetic surgery services. Membership opens once approval/accreditation is granted; expressions of interest help us plan capacity and consult on scheme rules.

Email clinics@aestheticresolution.com with your clinic name, registered address, services offered, a primary contact, and whether any of your clinicians may be interested in adjudicator training. We will respond within 5 working days.