PRIVACY POLICY

Charlotte Nash is committed to keeping your personal information safe and being transparent about how she collects your data, how she stores it, and what she does with it.  This is in line with the new laws relating to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that have been in effect since 25 May 2018.

Data Controller: Charlotte Nash

What personal data do I store?

During our initial consultation you will be asked for the following information:
–    Name
–    Date of birth
–    Address
–    Contact telephone number
–    Email address
–    GP details
–    Emergency contact details

Should further therapy sessions be commenced, clinical notes will be completed detailing a summary of the content of the session, these notes are anonymised for privacy purposes.  Additional documents may include a signed therapy agreement, letters/reports, and outcome measures.

Why do I need this personal data?

Charlotte Nash has a legitimate interest in using the personal and sensitive data collected to provide treatment to clients.

Will any information be shared?

Charlotte Nash holds all information about her clients, and the treatment they receive in confidence.  This means that she will not normally share your personal information with anyone else.  However, there are exceptions to this when there may be a need for liaison with other parties:

In exceptional circumstances, she may need to share personal information with relevant authorities i.e.

•  Where there is ‘need-to-know’ information for another health provider such as your General Practitioner (GP).
•  When disclosure is in the public interest to prevent an injustice or where there is a legal duty for example a court subpoena.
•  When the information concerns the risk of harm to the client or risk of harm to another child or adult.

How is personal information stored?

Charlotte Nash will store personal information in a secure locked storage cabinet for paper-based records or through a secure electronic storage system for electronic records.  Her office computer is password protected with anti-virus protection enabled.

Personal information is minimised in phone and email communication.  Any sensitive personal information sent via email to clients, or third parties, will be sent using additional software which allows secure transfer of emails.

Charlotte Nash’s mobile device is protected with a passcode/fingerprint/facial recognition scanner.

How long will information be stored?

Charlotte Nash only holds information for as long as it is required. Sensitive personal data will be stored for a period of 7 years after the end of therapy.  After this, the data is deleted at the end of each calendar year.  Sensitive personal information will be disposed of by means of cross-shredding as confidential waste or deleted permanently from electronic systems.

Your right to access the personal information we hold about you:

•  You have a right to access the information we hold about you.
•  We will usually share this with you within 30 days of receiving a request.
•  There may be an administration fee for supplying the information to you.
•  We may request further evidence from you to check your identity.
•  A copy of your personal information will usually be sent to you in a permanently printed format.
•  You have the right to get your personal information corrected if it is inaccurate.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe that Charlotte Nash has not complied with data protection laws.

Charlotte Nash reserves the right to refuse a request to delete a client’s personal information where it is therapy records.  Therapy records are retained for a period of 7 years in accordance with guidelines and requirements for record keeping.

Our privacy policy may be updated at various times, so please check this page occasionally to check for any changes or updates, and to ensure you are happy with these.

Last updated: 3 October 2022