Who we are
CHSLT delivers independent speech and language therapy to children in the home and/or educational settings.
The website is www.carolineharrison-slt.co.uk
CHSLT is committed to protecting the privacy of information provided by clients.
Collection of personal data
Information about your child may be collected via spoken or written information from parents/carers. With parental consent, information may also be collected from other professionals working with your child (such as teachers, nursery staff, childminders, NHS Speech and Language Therapist). We may also collect information about family members where this relates to your child e.g. contact details for parents and relevant medical or developmental history.
You may use the website without providing any personal information. However, if you wish to make an enquiry via the website, you are requested to provide relevant contact details, such as your name, e-mail address and contact telephone number to enable us to respond to your enquiry.
You may add comments or queries which might also contain personal information.
If your enquiry does not result in your child being seen by Caroline Harrison, then this personal information will be deleted once your enquiry has been dealt with. If your child is subsequently seen by Caroline Harrison these details may be added to their personal record.
The website contains links to other Internet sites which are outside our control and are not covered by this privacy policy. We are not responsible for data which you provide through any such linked websites.
Our use of personal information
Personal information collected by us via my website, email, telephone, or face to face is stored and used by us for the purpose of delivering your child’s therapy.
Any sensitive personal details are stored in a secure and confidential system and processed in confidence by Caroline Harrison and shall only be used for the purposes of delivering appropriate speech and language therapy services to your child.
With your consent, information about your child’s speech and language needs will be shared with other professionals involved in your child’s care, when it is in your child’s best interests. A record of your consent is kept within your child’s casenotes.
Unless we are required to do so by law, we will not disclose any personal information collected to any person other than as set out above.
We do not employ agents to process personal data, for example specialist mailing companies to send out communications.
We do not give or sell client details to any third parties.
How we use personal information
CHSLT uses personal information:
Whenever personal identifiers are not needed for these tasks, if possible, we remove them from the information we use.
How we store personal information
All information about you, your child and their speech and language therapy is stored securely to ensure that we have a complete record of my service to them. We use a secure electronic cloud-based system called “WriteUpp” which is compliant with general data protection regulations. Documents which contain confidential information such as reports, and programmes are also individually password protected from the outset. Any paper based confidential information such as assessments are stored securely in accordance with Data Protection Regulations.
Videos may be taken of clients with parental consent. These are temporarily stored on an encrypted and password protected tablet. These may then be viewed by the SLT in order to make notes in a client record within 24 hours of the child’s appointment. The video is then deleted.
The minimum amount of confidential information will be taken out of the Speech and Language Therapist’s office base. When your child’s information is taken out of the office base it will be kept with the Speech and Language Therapist or will be locked in the boot of the Speech and Language Therapist’s car (whichever is deemed to be the most secure at that time).
In accordance with law, all records will be kept securely until your child is 25 years old. After this time all records relating to your child will be destroyed.
Meeting our professional obligations
It is a legal requirement for all Speech and Language Therapists to be registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC). HCPC has clear standards of conduct, performance and ethics to which all registrants must adhere. These standards affect the way in which therapists process and share information, specifically:
Standard 2: Communicate appropriately and effectively
“You must share relevant information where appropriate with colleagues involved in the care, treatment or other services provided to a service user.”
Standard 10: Keep records of your work
“You must keep full, clear and accurate records for everyone you care for, treat, or provide services to. You must complete all records promptly and as soon as possible after providing care, treatment or other services. You must keep records secure by protecting them from loss, damage or inappropriate access.”
For further information, see the HCPC website.
The Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations 2018
The Data Protection Act 2018 and The General Data Protection Regulations 2018 lay down wideranging rules, backed up by criminal sanctions, for the processing of information about identifiable, living individuals. It also gives individuals certain rights in relation to personal data held about them by others.
Caroline Harrison Speech and Language Therapy is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a Data Controller.
Our Responsibilities
We are committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your child’s record. We actively implement security measures to ensure their information is safe, and audit these regularly.
We will not release your personal details to any third party without first seeking your consent, unless this is allowed for or required by law.
We are constantly working to ensure compliance with current data protection regulation.
Your rights
Data protection legislation gives you, the parent, various rights. The most important of these are as follows:
How to access your child’s records
You can access the information I hold about you by writing to me at the address given below. Please apply in writing rather than by email, so that we receive an original signature to compare against the records we hold.
A copy of your child’s records is provided free of charge.
We will provide access to your child’s records within 30 days of receipt of all necessary information.
Please make your request in writing to:
Caroline Harrison
2 Burycroft Road
Hook Norton
Oxfordshire
OX15 5PW
If you have any further questions about how I use your information, please contact Caroline Harrison.
Further information about data protection legislation and your rights is available from the Information Commissioner's Office.