I’m not in the habit of leaving negative reviews out of spite – I only do this when there’s a need to warn others. I think there is here. Consider very carefully attending this clinic, particularly if you are neurodivergent, have social anxiety, or special learning needs. There’s another review on here that says much the same, and that tracks with my own experience.
I signed up to see a physio here due to a spinal injury caused by a chiropractor. I’ve tried all sorts of things without result, but I was still hopeful about The Lomond Clinic. So much for that.
I spent almost an hour fully explaining my issue to the physio, Sakshi, and thought she understood. Imagine my surprise when, in the next session, she suggested that it was “just stress.” Aside from the fact that a physio is not a mental health professional, I went to the Lomond Clinic for a spinal injury. Not a great start to the session, especially since I’d been asked at short notice to agree to having a student observer present, something that I did not realise I could say no to (I’m neurodivergent and don’t always get hidden context, something that I’m quite sure isn’t a crime). The session was excruciating, especially when I was asked to remove clothing, something I had not been asked to do before. I was also asked to give an in-the-moment pain score (it varies and was low at that moment). This led Sakshi to declare that her treatments had helped even though she was dealing with chronic, complex pain and had only seen me once before.
Shortly after the session, I called the clinic in order to talk privately (to save her the embarrassment that a message to the main email would have given her) with Sakshi and raise my concerns, and also ask her for her opinion on whether she believed that, given the complexity of my issue, that she felt qualified to help. Sakshi became very defensive and did not answer for some time.
The following morning I got a call from the practice manager where my call the previous day was described as “an incident with two sides,” as though my customer feedback was a complaint (it wasn’t) or even a personal attack (it very certainly wasn’t). The practice manager explained that Sakshi is used to getting only positive feedback from customers, and was very upset about “the way I’d spoken to her” (no swearing, no shouting, plenty of politeness, and above all, discretion for her benefit). I was given the very strong impression that I should have kept these concerns and my upset to myself in order to save Sakshi the discomfort of hearing about her failings.
All of this leaves me with the impression that The Lomond Clinic doesn’t really care about the client’s experience, they just want those tasty five-star reviews, and of course your hard-earned money. The fact that I was casually declared to be doing better, after only one one-hour session for a spinal injury I’ve had since October just does not lend credibility to the therapies that are being practiced over at the Lomond Clinic. Wishing something to be true does not make it so.
I fully expect that I’m going to get a caustic response to this review from the clinic, explaining all the reasons why I’m wrong, just as they’ve already done over the phone. To anyone from the clinic preparing a rebuttal, please try to remember that this is not a complaint, it’s a review – it’s for the information of the public. It is quite clear that I am never going to get the apology that I deserve, nor any kind of reparation.
If you’re neurodivergent, you’ll be very familiar with being explained things to by neurotypicals, the assumption being that you can’t possibly understand anything yourself. I was even fed the line to remember to have empathy (I have plenty, thanks), even though the idea that neurodivergent people have no empathy was debunked about 15 years ago. The Lomond Clinic is not an inclusive environment.
This is one of the most negative experiences I have had with a local business in more than ten years. I feel violated, overruled, ignored and really quite shaken by the whole thing.
