Terms of Service

1. Who We Are

UK Medical Electives ("we", "us", "UKME") arranges clinical placements for international medical students and graduates at NHS hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Contact us at contact@ukmedicalelectives.org

2. What We Provide

We arrange clinical placements at NHS hospitals. This means:

• We match you with a hospital and department based on your preferences, qualifications, and availability
• We prepare your documentation pack for the hospital
• We coordinate your placement application end-to-end with NHS teaching hospitals in London
• We support you with logistics before and during your placement
• We provide pre-placement training materials

What we do not provide:

• We do not guarantee a placement at a specific hospital or department.
• We do not provide accommodation, flights, travel insurance, or living expenses
• We do not provide visa applications, though we provide guidance (see section 6)
• We do not provide medical registration or GMC registration

3. What You Are Booking

Your placement is a supervised clinical elective at an NHS hospital. What you do day-to-day depends on three things: your visa status, the hospital's arrangements, and your supervising consultant's discretion.

In practice, you may:

• Attend ward rounds, outpatient clinics, theatre, and teaching
• Take patient histories and examine patients under supervision, where the hospital permits this
• Present cases, contribute to discussions, and assist with procedures at the supervising clinician's invitation

In all cases, you will not:

• Make independent clinical decisions
• Prescribe or handle medications
• Write in patient records except where the hospital explicitly authorises you to in writing
• Undertake any activity your visa does not permit (see section 6)

You are responsible for confirming the specific scope permitted at your hospital with your supervisor before your placement begins. UKME does not guarantee the scope of clinical participation; that is a matter between you, the hospital, and your visa status.

Your visa status and the hospital's rules set the outer limits of what you can do. Your supervisor sets the actual scope within those limits. Breaching either hospital rules or your visa conditions can result in immediate removal from your placement, immigration consequences, and no refund.

4. Pricing and Payment

Programme fee: Each placement has its own price, shown on the hospital and department page. Your exact fee will be confirmed before you pay.

What's included: Application processing, documentation preparation, pre-placement training, hospital liaison, and placement support.

What's not included: Visa application fees, flights, accommodation, travel insurance, living expenses, occupational health screening (if the hospital requires their own provider), and any additional training the hospital requires.

When you pay: Your fee is split into two payments. The deposit is due upon approval to secure your placement. The remaining balance is due 14 calendar days after you pay your deposit. We will confirm the amounts and provide payment instructions in your approval email.

5. Your Obligations

To secure a placement, you must provide us with accurate and complete documentation, including:

1. Valid passport (with at least 6 months' validity beyond your placement end date)
2. University enrolment letter or dean's reference
3. CV / resume
4. English language proficiency evidence (IELTS, OET, or equivalent)
5. Immunisation records (Hepatitis B, MMR, Varicella, TB screening)
6. Evidence of a valid UK visa once issued (or visa-exempt status, where applicable) before travel. UKME issues the visa support letters; you apply for the visa.
7. A police clearance certificate from each country you have lived in for 6 months or more in the past 5 years, due no later than 45 days before your placement start date
8. Passport-sized photographs (x2)

You must provide all documents within the deadlines we set (typically 10 weeks before your placement start date), complete all mandatory pre-placement training, obtain appropriate UK immigration permission before travelling, and arrange your own travel, accommodation, and travel insurance.

If you provide false or misleading information, we may cancel your placement and refuse a refund.

6. Visas and Immigration

Most international students attend placements on a Standard Visitor visa (or enter visa-free if eligible). Clinical observation and educational attachments are permitted activities under visitor rules. The scope of clinical involvement beyond observation depends on your visa status and the arrangements agreed with the host trust.

We provide guidance on visa requirements, but we are not immigration advisers. Our guidance is general information, not legal advice. You are responsible for checking that you have the correct visa, applying in good time, meeting all entry requirements, and complying with your visa conditions at all times.

7. Clinical Indemnity Insurance

Clinical indemnity insurance is strongly recommended for your placement. Some hospitals require it as a condition of your honorary contract. This varies by trust, and we will tell you whether yours does when you apply.

Where indemnity is required, you must arrange your own cover and provide us with a copy of your insurance certificate at least 6 weeks before your placement starts. Providers include the Medical Protection Society (MPS), Medical Defence Union (MDU), or equivalent. Your medical school may also provide indemnity automatically for approved electives, so check with them before arranging your own.

8. Cancellations and Refunds

Your right to cancel (cooling-off period)

Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, you have the right to cancel within 14 days of paying your deposit, for any reason. If you cancel within this period, we will refund the full amount you have paid within 14 days.

Your deposit is non-refundable after day 15

Your deposit, which varies by hospital and is shown on the placement page before you apply and confirmed in your approval email, is non-refundable after the 14-day cooling-off period. This covers the work UKME has already begun on your behalf, including candidate screening, documentation preparation, hospital coordination, and pre-placement support.

Cancellation after the cooling-off period

Your deposit is non-refundable in all cases below. Refunds of the remaining balance depend on how close to your placement start date you cancel:

If your visa is refused

If your UK visa application is refused, please send us a copy of the refusal letter. The refund position is as follows:

• Your deposit is non-refundable, as the screening, documentation, hospital coordination, and pre-placement support work has already been completed.
• Your remaining balance is refunded, less a non-refundable retention from that balance, set out in the table below. This retention covers the work UKME has done on your visa pack and (where applicable) the facility fee owed to the host hospital, which we may have paid or committed to pay on your behalf.

If the refusal was caused by false or misleading information you provided, no refund is payable. Refunds are paid to the original payment method within 14 days of the refusal being confirmed.

If the hospital cannot host you

In rare cases, the hospital may be unable to host you at short notice, for example because of a clinical emergency, a staffing change, or a sudden change in trust capacity. If that happens, we will do our best to find you an equivalent placement at another partner hospital, in the same or a related specialty, for the same dates. If we cannot find a suitable alternative, or if you would prefer not to take an alternative we offer, we will refund all payments you have made, including your deposit.

Our right to cancel

We may cancel your placement if you fail to provide required documents or provide false information. In any other case where we cannot deliver your placement, you will receive a full refund, including your deposit.

Refunds are paid to the original payment method within 14 days of the cancellation being confirmed.

Hospital placement fees

Where UKME has already paid a hospital placement fee on your behalf, that amount will be deducted from any refund otherwise due to you under this section. This deduction does not apply to cancellations under "If your visa is refused" (where the retention amounts above are the only deduction), "If the hospital cannot host you", "Our right to cancel" (where UKME cannot deliver), or section 12 (Things Outside Our Control).

9. During Your Placement

You will be supervised by a Named Supervisor appointed by the hospital. You must follow all hospital rules and policies, attend during the agreed hours, and stay within the scope of practice agreed with your supervisor and permitted by your visa (see section 3).

The hospital may end your placement early if you breach hospital rules, behave unprofessionally, or if your continued presence poses a risk. If this happens because of your conduct, no refund is payable.

10. Your Personal Data

We collect and process your personal data to arrange your placement. This includes sensitive data such as health records and passport details. Full details are in our Privacy Policy.

We share your documentation with the hospital so they can process your honorary contract. We store your data securely and only keep it as long as needed. You have rights under UK data protection law, including the right to access, correct, or delete your data.

11. Complaints

Contact us first at contact@ukmedicalelectives.org. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and aim to resolve it within 14 working days.

12. Things Outside Our Control

We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, including pandemic, government restrictions, hospital closures, strikes, natural disasters, or terrorism.

If such an event affects your placement, we will work with you to find an alternative. If no alternative is possible, we will provide a full refund.

13. Limitation of Liability

We do our best to arrange placements, but we cannot guarantee outcomes. We cannot guarantee a specific learning experience or take responsibility for the hospital's clinical environment or staff behaviour.

Our total liability to you under these terms shall not exceed the programme fee you paid.

Nothing in these terms excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email before they take effect. The version in force when you paid applies to your booking.

15. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.