Privacy Policy
On the 25th of May 2018 the law changed with regard to how organisations protect your
‘data’ (personal details and records), and this is called the General Data
Protection Regulation or GDPR. (Access the Information Commissioners Office,
(https://ico.org.uk), for further details). The following summary highlights how
GDPR is being implemented by explaining why confidential information is held and how
this is protected.
The need to Process your Information
In providing you with our services, Ryedale Psychology Resource needs to
handle your personal information. Personal information is details about you from
which you can be identified, such as your name, address and contact details. We may
also process additional sensitive data such as information about your psychological
and physical health. This information is essential to inform, facilitate and provide
therapeutic services and assessment that are appropriate to your needs.
Under the requirements of the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and British
Psychological Society (BPS), we are obliged, according to the legitimate interests
of provision of our services, to keep documentation of your personal data to allow
us to provide appropriate services for you.
Information Held
Information about you will be held in the form of handwritten notes, emails,
questionnaires, letters and reports in addition to our practice management software
system and invoices. This information may be collected at any point during your
contact with us and/or during your receipt of services from us. Your information
will be collected, managed and stored solely for the purpose of providing you with
psychological and ancillary services.
Use of Your Information
We use your name, your contact details such as your telephone number,
email/postal/Skype address:
- To inform you about appointments, practice details and services we provide.
- To create and process your invoice using our accounting package.
- To process your payment - your provided reference details may appear on our
accounts/banking statement.
- To carry out remote treatment sessions and communications.
Storage of your Information
- Company computers - We use a personal computer located on
our office premises. The computer is password protected and passwords not
shared beyond those requiring definitive access. Where cloud services are
used, these meet GDPR requirements and all data is securely encrypted when
stored there. We also record some aspects of our interaction with you in
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets on a computer in our office.
- Paper copies During appointments we take handwritten notes.
These notes may be used to create a report on the services we provide to you
or to an approved third party, (e.g. your GP or health insurer). Written
notes are a memory aid for your therapist to ensure continuity of treatment.
We keep a paper copy of your notes and any invoices in locked filing
cabinets in our offices. We provide paper copies of invoices to our
accountant to enable her to process our accounts each year.
Length of time information is held
We will hold information about you for as long as you receive services from us and
for 8 years following the date of our last contact with you. If the client is a
minor, we will hold information for six years past the age of maturity. Some records
may be held indefinitely if there were issues of concern that could lead to
police/legal investigation in the future. Please note - mental health records are
subject to special legislation:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/records-management-code-of-practice-for-health-and-social-careArchived
files are held in secure storage on our office premises and finally disposed of in a
safe and confidential manner.
Removal of your data
You have the right to request your personal data be erased prior to this time or at
any point by contacting our Data Protection Officer, Dr Kay Farquharson, using the
email contact:
office@ryepsych.co.uk or
telephone number: 07967 128916. However, if there were an on-going legal matter
related to your case or if your request falls within the timeframe our governing
practice body dictates client data be held, (8 years), it may not be possible to
erase your data before that period has passed or any legal action is ended. If we
decide your data can be deleted this will be carried out without delay.
Access to information
You can access your information by contacting Dr Farquharson via telephone or email
to make a Subject Access Request (SAR).You can also ask for your information to be
transferred to another provider of psychological services. We will respond to your
request within 30 days. Verification of your identity will be required prior to
release. These services may involve administration fees.
Correction and updating of held information
Whilst you are receiving services from Ryedale Psychology Resource we will
aim to keep the information we hold about you up-to-date. Please advice immediately
of any changes in your personal data to allow an update of our records.
Protecting your Information
We are committed to holding your personal data in a safe and secure manner.
Therefore we comply with professional body guidelines and recommendations, (BPS &
HCPC) and those of regulatory bodies such as the Information Commissioners Office.
We have physical, electronic, and operational procedures in place to protect your
data. In the unlikely event of our security processes being compromised leading to a
significant breach of your information, we will endeavour to inform you within 72
hours.
Confidentiality
The confidentiality of your personal information is very important to York & Ryedale
Psychology Resource. Our services are confidential and your data will only be shared
without your consent in the event of serious risk of harm to yourself or when we are
legally obliged to do so. Release of confidential information is restricted solely
to other professionals who have a definitive need to access it. You may be assured
your data will never be used, shared, or processed for the purposes of marketing or
research. You have the right to object to the use of your data for any purpose in
which case processing will be stopped immediately pending consultation.
Raising concerns
Should you have any concerns about the management of your data by York & Ryedale
Psychology Resource, please contact our Data Protection Officer, Dr K Farquharson,
in the first instance. If we are unable to resolve your concerns, you have a right
to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/raisingconcerns/
