Terms of service

These terms govern the LocumMeds AI Reception service (“the service”) provided to your practice (“you”) by the agency operating this site (“we”, reachable at shabaz@locummeds.co.uk). The service answers telephone calls on your behalf, books appointments, takes messages and presents the results to your team in a dashboard. These are business terms — the service is supplied to practices, not to patients or consumers.

The receptionist is an AI. It discloses that it is an AI and that calls are recorded, on every call. It is non-clinical by design: it never assesses symptoms, never gives medical advice, and directs callers describing an emergency to 999. Where it cannot complete something itself, it captures the request for your staff — the service assists your reception function and does not replace your clinical or safeguarding responsibilities.

The service is charged as a flat monthly retainer per practice, at the rate agreed in your order, with any setup fee stated there too. There are no per-minute charges; retainers include a fair-use allowance of call minutes, and if your usage consistently exceeds it we will discuss the right plan with you rather than bill overage by surprise. Either party may cancel with one month’s written notice. Fees are payable monthly in advance and are exclusive of VAT.

• Keep the information the receptionist works from — opening hours, appointment types, transfer numbers, FAQs — accurate and current through the dashboard or by asking us.
• Tell your patients, through your own privacy notice, that an AI answering and call recording are in use, and handle patient data requests as controller (see clause 6).
• Keep dashboard sign-ins personal and secure, and tell us promptly when a staff member leaves so their account can be deactivated.
• Control your own telephone divert — you can route calls away from the service at any time through your phone provider, without notice to us.

We provide the service with reasonable skill and care, aim for 24/7 availability, and publish live status at /status. An AI receptionist, like a human one, is not infallible: we do not warrant that every call will be handled perfectly, and the dashboard — transcripts, recordings and the action queue — exists precisely so your team can verify and correct outcomes. We will notify you without undue delay of any personal data breach affecting your data.

For patient call data, you are the controller and we are your processor under the data processing agreement between us, which forms part of these terms and is available from your dashboard’s Trust & data page. Recordings and transcripts are retained for the period you choose (1–24 months) and then deleted automatically. Our privacy notice describes the processing and subprocessors in full.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded by law, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud. Subject to that, neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss, and each party’s total liability arising in any 12-month period is capped at the fees paid for the service in that period. The service is a reception tool: clinical decisions, and the handling of the requests it captures, remain yours.

We may suspend the service for non-payment or material breach, on notice and after a reasonable opportunity to remedy. On termination we return or delete your data in line with the data processing agreement, and your practice’s number simply stops diverting to us — calls ring in your practice again from the next call.

These terms, your order and the data processing agreement are the whole agreement between us. Neither party may assign them without the other’s consent, not to be unreasonably withheld. They are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If we update these terms we will give you notice; continued use after the notice period is acceptance.