Patients know your consultants. Do they know your clinic?
When every consultant has their own profile, reviews and look, the clinic gets lost. Here is how to build a brand that lifts everyone.
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- steps
- 6
- steps
- to start
- 2 hours
- to start
- scorecard
- Free
- scorecard
The short answer
Do not try to take reviews away from consultants. Collect reviews for the clinic on your own Google Business Profile and a review platform, help consultants collect theirs, and link the two everywhere. Agree one simple brand rule for how consultants appear on your website and profiles. Ask every patient, never filter who you ask, and follow the review rules in the DMCC Act.
What good looks like
Your reviews, before and after
Google: Example Clinic
- Improved: ★★★★★ 48 recent reviews
- Improved: Consultant pages linked · consistent profiles
Reply from the owner
Illustrative sample, not a real person or result. Your own audit uses your real details.
6 steps
Do it yourself: step by step
0 of 6 done
List every place with reviews: clinic Google Business Profile, consultants' Google practitioner profiles, Doctify or similar, your website. Note count and average rating for each.
- Time
- 2 hours
- Typical cost
- £0
- Who does it
- Practice manager
Done when: One sheet with every profile, its owner, count and rating
This problem is Solvable.
Copy this template
Review request messages and brand rule
Free to copy, adapt and use. No sign-up.
Review requests and brand rule: [Clinic name]
SMS (send within 48 hours of the visit)
"Thank you for visiting [Clinic name] today. Your feedback helps other patients. Review the clinic: [link]. Review [Consultant name]: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out."
Subject: How was your visit to [Clinic name]?
Dear [First name],
Thank you for coming to see [Consultant name] at [Clinic name] on [date].
We ask every patient for feedback, good or bad. It helps us improve and helps other patients choose.
- Review the clinic and our team: [link]
- Review [Consultant name]: [link]
It takes about two minutes. If anything was not right, you can also reply to this email or call [name] on [number].
With thanks, [Name], [Practice manager]
Replying to reviews
Positive: "Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We're pleased your visit went well and will pass your comments to the team." Negative: "Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry your experience fell short. Please contact [name] on [number] so we can look into this." Never confirm that someone is a patient or discuss their care in a public reply.
Brand rule (agreed with consultants)
- Consultant name format: [Mr/Ms/Dr First Last, specialty]
- Photo: [plain background, head and shoulders, same photographer if possible]
- Wording on consultant profiles: "Consults at [Clinic name], [town]" with link
- Clinic website links to each consultant's own profiles
- Consultants keep their own reviews; the clinic collects clinic reviews
Rules we follow
- We ask every patient, not only happy ones
- We never offer anything in return for a review
- We never write or commission reviews
- We do not hide or remove genuine negative reviews
- We never steer unhappy patients away from leaving a review
Avoid these
Common mistakes
- Asking only patients you expect to be happy, which can make the published rating misleading.
- Offering a discount or prize draw for reviews.
- Replying to a negative review with details of the patient's care.
- Forcing consultants to drop their own profiles, which makes them leave.
- Letting each consultant's page on the clinic website follow a different layout and level of detail.
Free personal check
Done by Paul Robinson, not software
I'll search for your clinic and your consultants as a patient and show you where your reviews are going
What I need from you
- Clinic name and town
- Your website
- Names of up to five consultants
What you get
- Screenshots of where reviews sit for the clinic and each consultant
- A simple brand rule you could agree with consultants
- Three changes to start building clinic reviews
Within 2 working days
No sign-in, no sales call. I read every request myself and reply on WhatsApp.
Free tools
Check where you stand
Benchmarks
Fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews banned
Under the DMCC Act 2024 (Schedule 20), submitting or commissioning fake reviews, concealing incentivised reviews and publishing reviews in a misleading way are banned practices. CMA guidance lists encouraging only satisfied customers to leave reviews as a form of cherry-picking
Paul Robinson
14 years in UK private healthcare
I solve this one for clinic and hospital teams
Want a hand? I'll look at your situation and tell you the three things I'd tackle first.
A few quick questions, about two minutes. I read every one myself and usually reply the same day.
No sales call unless you ask for one. Just a straight answer and what I'd do first.
I reply personally, usually the same day.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Will consultants object to the clinic collecting reviews?
Less if you collect for them too. Send both links in one message and share their results monthly.
Can we ask only happy patients?
No. Ask everyone. CMA guidance names encouraging only satisfied customers to leave reviews as one way of presenting reviews misleadingly, which is a banned practice under the DMCC Act 2024.
Can we offer a small thank you for a review?
It is best not to. Hiding an incentive is banned under the DMCC Act, and some review platforms do not allow incentivised reviews at all.
What if a consultant leaves?
Their reviews go with them. That is why the clinic needs its own review base.
Should we reply to every review?
Yes, briefly and without discussing care. A good reply to a poor review often reassures readers more than the review worries them.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is general information. For a specific question about consumer law, speak to a solicitor.
Last reviewed:
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