Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy

Who we are

This privacy notice (the “Privacy Policy”) applies to all information we collect & use about you/your child in relation to the services you receive from My Speech Therapist Ltd. My Speech Therapist Ltd is a data controller in respect of personal information that we process in connection with our business (including the products and services that we provide). In this policy, references to “we”, “us” or “our” refer to My Speech therapist Ltd.

My Speech Therapist Ltd. is a registered UK company. Our registered address is 20 Wenlock Road, London, England N1 7GU. Our company registration number is 15038171. You can check all details on the companies house website https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company. My Speech Therapist Ltd is a private Speech & Language Therapy practice which delivers independent speech and language therapy services to children, young people, families, education settings and other organisations. Our services may be delivered in-person in a variety of different settings (including homes & schools) or we may deliver our services on line.

Polly Chapman BA (Hons) Exon., PGDip, MRCSLT, MASLTIP is the Director & Principal Speech & Language Therapist of My Speech Therapist Ltd. Polly Chapman is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists(RCSLT) and a member of the Association of Speech and Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP). Polly Chapman is registered to practice as a Speech & Language Therapist in the UK, with the Health Care Professions Council(HCPC): registration number SL33006. Her registration details can be found on the HCPC regsitration list on their website https://www.hcpc-uk.org/check-the-register/ which can be checked at any time.

Our website address is: https://myspeechtherapist.net. My Speech Therapist Ltd is committed to protecting the privacy of information provided by our clients at all times and take this responsibility to safeguard necessary information shared with us very seriously.

The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to explain how we collect and use personal information in connection with our business. “Personal information” means information about a living individual who can be identified from that information (either by itself, or when it is combined with other information).

Our lawful purpose for processing personal information

Our lawful basis for processing and storing personal information is one of ‘legitimate interest’ under section 6 of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). We cannot adequately deliver a service to you without processing your personal information. As it is both a necessity for our service delivery and of benefit to you, we have a legitimate interest to process and store your data. Data relating to an individual’s health is classified as ‘Special Category Data’ under section 9 of the GDPR. The regulations specify that health professionals who are ‘legally bound to professional secrecy’ may have a lawful basis for processing this data. Speech and Language Therapists are legally bound to keep client information confidential and it is under this condition that we process and store personal information.

It is a legal requirement for all Speech and Language Therapists to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The HCPC has clear standards of conduct, performance and ethics that all registrants must adhere to. These standards affect the way in which we 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 other 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.”

How we collect personal information

You may use the My Speech Therapist website without providing any personal information. However, if you wish to make an enquiry via the website’s online submission form, you are requested to provide your name & e-mail address to enable us to respond to your enquiry. You may add comments or queries in the comment box or subject line which might also contain personal information. If your enquiry does not result in you being seen by My Speech Therapist Ltd then this personal information will be deleted after 1 month (to give , once your enquiry has been dealt with.

Information about you may be collected by My Speech Therapsit Ltd in spoken or written form from you, for example, you may share information with us via the enquiries form on our website, verbal conversations in-person, on the telephone or via video calls and in written information shared via email or any other format. With your consent, information may also be collected from other people in your life (such as your parent/grandparent/partner/carer) or professionals working with you (such as education setting staff, Educational Psychologists, Special Educational Needs assessment officers at the Local Authority, Social Care professionals, Health Visitors/School Nurses, your GP, Paediatricians, Clinical Psychologists, other medical professionals and NHS Speech and Language Therapists).

How we use personal information

Personal information collected by My Speech Therapist Ltd via the My Speech Therapist website, email, video call, telephone or face to face, is stored and used by us for the purpose of delivering your speech and language intervention only. We use this information:

• • To prepare, plan and provide speech and language therapy services appropriate for your needs.

• • To communicate with you via post, email, telephone or text message in relation to: arranging appointments; general communication in between appointments; sending clinical reports and programmes; copying in to communications with other professionals involved with your care & sending any clinical resources necessary for your/your child’s speech and language intervention.

• • For management and administration business purposes, for example: for the purposes of sending invoices & managing payments, names & addresses of clients are kept on My Speech Therapist Ltd’s banking app Mettle. (owned and maintained by National Westminster Bank Plc trading as Mettle). This app is kept securely password protected and biodata is used as a secondary security feature. Only Polly Chapman (Director of My Speech Therapist Ltd) has access to this banking app.

• • Any sensitive personal details are stored in a secure and confidential system, processed in confidence by My Speech Therapist Ltd and shall only be used for the purposes of delivering appropriate speech and language therapy services to you.

• • With your express consent, information about your speech and language needs will be shared with other professionals involved in your care, when it is in your best interests. A record of your consent to this is kept within your record.

• • Unless we are required to do so by law, or for safeguarding purposes, we will not disclose any personal information collected to any person other than as set out above.

• • With your consent we may share information such as appointment dates and times and reports via email. In the case of reports these will be password protected. Personal identifiable information will be limited where possible in emails.

• • My Speech Therapist Ltd does not employ agents to process personal data.

How we store personal information

All information about you and your speech and language therapy is stored securely in our systems to ensure that we have a complete and accurate record of our service to you.

Any paper based confidential information such as assessment record forms or handwritten notes are stored securely in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) data protection regulations and scanned and uploaded to your record. Once a paper document has been uploaded the original copy is shredded and disposed of.

Voice recordings and videos may be taken with your consent. These are temporarily stored on a password protected mobile phone. These may then be viewed by the therapist in order to make notes in a client record within 48 hours of the appointment. The video is then permanently deleted. Should any recordings be held as necessary for your treatment (either video, voice
or photographic) you will be asked to sign a consent form outlining your consent for how these will be used, how these will be stored and at what point they will be destroyed.

The minimum amount of confidential information will be taken out on visits. When your/your child’s information is taken out on a visit 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).

Cookies

The contact forms on myspeechtherapist.net were created using WPForms Lite (a Word Press product), which does not use any user tracking cookies.  In addition, any user details (name, email) or additional information added within the message is not collected by Word Press as the forms are private and WPForms cannot see any information you enter.  My Speech Therapist receives the information from the form directly to our clinical enquires email which is only accessible to Polly Chapman, My Speech Therapist Ltd data controller.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on the My Speech Therapist website may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves as if the visitor has visited the other website directly. These other websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

My Speech Therapist Ltd are not responsible for any data which you provide to other websites you visit via embedded content. You should always read the privacy policy of the other website in order to understand how they will protect your privacy & use your data before sharing any data with them. It is important to understand that other websites may not be bound by the The HCPC standards of conduct, performance and ethics & may not be ‘legally bound to professional secrecy’ in the same way that we are.

Links to other websites

The My Speech Therapist website may contains links to other internet sites which are outside our control and are not covered by this My Speech Therapist Ltd privacy policy. My Speech Therapist Ltd are not responsible for data which you provide through any such linked websites. You should always read the privacy policy of the linked website in order to understand how they will protect your privacy & use your data before sharing any data with them. It is important to understand that a linked website may not be bound by the The HCPC standards of conduct, performance and ethics & may not be ‘legally bound to professional secrecy’ in the same way that we are.

How long we retain your personal information?

In accordance with law, all clinical & administrative records will be kept securely until 8 years after the final entry. After this time all records relating to your/your child’s treatment will be destroyed securely.

What rights you have over your data?

The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018, govern protection, processing and movement of data and the legal rights of individuals to control information about themselves. GDPR seeks to give people more control over how organisations use their data. It enforces significant penalties for organisations that fail to comply. My Speech Therapist Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a Data Controller. You can view the ICO registration by visiting: https://ico.org.uk/esdwebpages/search.

Our responsibilities:

• • We are committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We actively implement security measures to ensure your information is safe and review these measures annually.

• • We are constantly working to ensure compliance with current data protection regulation.

• • We will not release your personal details to any third party without first seeking your consent, unless this is required by law.

GDPR gives you the following rights:

The right to a copy of the information we hold about you.

The right to ask for your record to be amended if you believe that it is wrong.

How to access your records:

You can access the information we hold about you by writing to us & we will provide access to your records within 30 days of receipt of all necessary information.

Please make your request in writing to:

FAO Data Protection Officer – My Speech Therapist Ltd, 51 St Peter’s Park Rd, Broadstairs, Kent CT10 2BD

If you have any further questions about how we use your information, please contact Polly Chapman (Data Protection Officer) email pollyspeechtherapist@outlook.com

Further information about data protection legislation is available through the Information Commissioner’s Office www.ico.org.uk.

This policy was updated on 17th August 2023 by Polly Chapman on behalf of My Speech Therapist LtdMy