Terms of service

The service

Velo Health provides asynchronous text consultations with GMC-registered UK doctors for the purpose of assessing requests for medical certificates. It is not an emergency service and does not replace your GP. If you are seriously unwell, call 999 or NHS 111.

A consultation is a clinical assessment, not a purchase of a certificate. The doctor decides, in their professional judgement, whether a certificate is appropriate. Every request is reviewed individually by a doctor - there are no automated approvals, and no outcome is guaranteed.

Velo Health Ltd operates the platform: the website, payment processing, and clinical administration. Consultations are conducted and certificates issued by GMC-registered UK doctors exercising independent professional judgement in accordance with UK professional standards. Nothing in how the platform works overrides the doctor's clinical decision.

The service is limited to assessing your request for a certificate. It does not provide diagnosis, treatment, prescriptions, referrals, or ongoing care, and no continuing clinical relationship is created. Messages are read when a doctor is next available, not in real time - if your condition changes or worsens, seek help from your GP, NHS 111, or in an emergency 999, rather than waiting for a reply.

Payment and refunds

You pay when you submit your request. If the doctor declines to issue a certificate, you receive an automatic full refund to your original payment method. If the doctor issues a certificate, the fee is earned and non-refundable.

If you do not respond to the doctor’s questions, your case is set aside and closed after 24 hours without a refund, as clinical time has been committed to your case.

Your responsibilities

You must be 18 or over, provide accurate information, upload genuine identification, and use the service only for yourself. Providing false information to obtain a medical certificate may be a criminal offence and will result in refusal without refund.

The doctor's assessment is based entirely on the information you provide. You are responsible for ensuring it is accurate and complete, and for seeking in-person or emergency care where your condition needs it. We are not responsible for consequences of information that was inaccurate, incomplete, or withheld, or of using this service where urgent or in-person care was the right route.

Certificates relate to the dates and condition assessed. Altering a certificate invalidates it.

Your medical information

To assess your request, we collect and store the health information you give us: your symptom description, uploaded documents, and your messages with the doctor. By submitting a request you acknowledge that this information becomes part of a clinical record that we retain in line with UK medical record-keeping guidance, as described in our privacy policy.

Your information is held securely, is visible only to the clinical team handling your case, and is never sold or used for marketing.

What certificates can be used for

Our certificates are private medical certificates suitable for: sick leave from work, including evidence for employer absence records; university, college, or school absence and extenuating circumstances applications; insurance claims that need medical evidence; and travel or booking cancellations for medical reasons.

They are not NHS fit notes (the Med 3 "Statement of Fitness for Work"), although most UK employers accept a private certificate signed by a GMC-registered doctor. They are not suitable for anything requiring a physical examination - such as fitness-to-fly letters, pre-employment or driver medicals, or sports clearance - nor for court or legal proceedings. Whether a certificate is accepted is always at the receiving organisation's discretion, so check their requirements first.

Certificates

Certificates are issued as signed PDFs, emailed to you and available from your dashboard. Each carries a unique reference that employers or institutions can raise with us via the contact page to confirm authenticity.

When an employer, university, or insurer asks us to verify a certificate by its reference, we confirm only that we issued it, who it was issued to, and the dates it covers - never your symptoms or clinical details.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the service, use the complaints form on the contact page. Every complaint receives a ticket reference and is reviewed by our clinical administration team.

Liability

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, we are not liable for losses arising from inaccurate or incomplete information you provided, from delay where the service was used instead of urgent or emergency care, or from decisions made by third parties (such as employers) based on a certificate, which are outside our control.

Clinical care is provided by GMC-registered doctors exercising independent professional judgement, each of whom holds professional indemnity cover for the care they provide.